


Dead Dragons and Necromancer Shenanigans

by DraketheDragon



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dragon Sickness, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Gold Sickness, Hidden race, I think it is obvious that I have no clue what I'm doing, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Sauron gets the ring early and lives up to the name necromancer, The One Ring is a character, Why Did I Write This?, everything happens on an excelerated time, slowburn, undead dragons - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2019-10-02 13:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 42,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17265320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DraketheDragon/pseuds/DraketheDragon
Summary: Three years after the Battle of the Five Armies everything goes to hell in a handbasket.In which Sauron got his ring, Fili was captured and held by orcs for three years, there are people of a hidden race running around and blowing stuff up, and dead dragons are a must have for necromancers.





	1. Hatred Born of Blood and Battle

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos appreciated! I hope you enjoy!

It was chaos, the sounds, the smells, everything blurred together into one great ball of confusion and instinct. Kili had been separated from Fee and was now alone except for the gigantic orc with the humongous maul in front of him. His sword was a constant blur of motion, but his strength was not up to that of the orcs, and soon he would fail. And he did. It was by pure luck that it was the hammer part of the orc's weapon and not the gruesome spike at the bottom that broke through his defenses. He was hurtled against the rockface behind him and pain exploded all across his back.  _Oww,_ he thought,  _that wasn't overly nice of him._ The orc strode toward him and smiled, running its thick tongue over twisted, scared lips. Kili's hand scrabbled desperately for his sword. Where was it? He had it just a second ago before this orc threw him acr -  _oh._ Well that was unfortunate.

The orc smirked as it raised its mace, the spike glinting red. It paused to say something in its broken language, most likely gloating. Kili fought down a hysterical giggle. Gloating? On a battlefield? It was just his luck to be attacked by the most idiotic orc around. Then, while the orc gloated, red haired vengeance leapt from the rocks above, one knife sinking into the back of the orc's weapon hand, the other striking down upon its head, looking for a soft spot in the armor bolted to the skin, and found it, curving deep into the eye and  sinking into the brain. The elf jumped off, kicking the orc down and rushing to Kili's side. Her smile lit her face as she looked down at him.

Kili had never seen anything so beautiful. 

"Kili." Her voice was wonderous, as if she couldn't believe he was alive.

"Tauriel." A grin crossed his own bloodied face. "Nice moves."

 

. . .

 

It was dark and he couldn't see, still the stone echoed and sang in the way it only did for dwarows. His sword dripped blood as Fili looked relentlessly for his brother. A shift, a scream, a rake across armor that tore at chainmail and flesh. Fili yelped, spinning around to stab the orc in the throat. His own blood dripped warm down his back and the tunnel walls in front of him glistened with torchlight. He turned, to see the same vision behind him. He was surrounded with neither Kee or his Uncle were anywhere.

Fuck.

He gulped, feeling dread pool in his stomach. There was nowhere to go, and he was alone and soon to be dead. He got ready, a sword in one hand, hand axe in the other, and pain branding his back. Then they were on him and then he couldn't think and couldn't dread his death. The tunnel worked for him, funneling the orcs. He couldn't fight many at once, but two at a time? That he could do, but not for long. A black bladed sword made brittle by bad forging, the sound of screams of pain, the faces, so many orc faces, blood glistening ruby red on his swords. Flashes, to fast to truly catalogue in his mind, he could only reacted. Slowly his confidence began to build. He could do it! He could hold them off till Thorin or Kee or someone else found him!

Then a scream pieced the air, somehow travelling deep into the tunnel. A hobbit's scream.

Bilbo.

His swords stilled for one second, but one second was enough and they were on him. He fought, but his weapons where torn from his hands. He couldn't move couldn't breathe, he was going to die. Hands pushed yanked him toward were the tunnel was wider, pushing him down to the cold rock, he felt metal on the back of his neck. Then a voice, speaking in a broken black speech, and then darkness.

It was not the type of darkness stone sense could solve.

 

. . .

 

Bilbo couldn't find him. He couldn't find Thorin. Dwalin had been right to send him to find Thorin, the pompous king was probably challenging Azog this very minute. If only he had worn the mithril shirt instead of Bilbo! After all, Thorin was a king, and Bilbo was just a hobbit! Invisible, he threaded his way through the battle. He could see a space ahead, a great span of ice, and two figures locked in battle. Bilbo hurried his pace, tripped and fell on to the ice, skidding across the slick surface. 

A waterfall. He was on top a waterfall. Trust Thorin to choose the most ridiculous place to have a duel.

Thorin was on his back, holding his sword and desperately pushing against the spiked arm of Azog. Bilbo stumbled up, cold digging into the pit of his stomach. Not Thorin. Not stubborn, noble Thorin! Bilbo could see the moment the dwarf decided to relent, the sudden weakness in his arms.

"No!"

Bilbo's shout rang on the ice, left behind as he hurtled forward, moving faster than he had ever had before. He hit Azog head on, and the pale orc went skidding, his blade missing the dwarf entirely. Bilbo skidded further, a blood trail following his wake. Azog was prone on the ice, his blade hand impeding his progress. Then he was moving no more, Orcrist sunk deep into his chest and pinning him to the ice. Thorin rushed to Bilbo side, his name clinging to his lips.

He could see him. Thorin could see him.

Wasn't he invisible?

"Bilbo, I am so sorry. I was lost and mad and could not see clearly." Thorin pulled him close as Bilbo tried to make sense of what was happening. Thorin, apologizing? He must be mad, or dead.

"Ummm. Sure, yep, uhhh, can this wait till we find Gandalf? You are bleeding a lot." The ice beneath them had turned dark and sticky.

Thorin frowned. "Bilbo, that is not me."

That was when Bilbo noticed his hand, or rather his lack of one, but that was not what made him scream. It was Azog, limbs twisting unnaturally to push him out of the ice, Orcrist still in his chest. In one hand he held a hand, a little hobbit hand that had a glint of gold on the middle finger.

Bilbo screamed, the sound spitting the air and traveling to all corners of the battlefield. Thorin spun around, his face going pale as he saw Azog up and alive. Except not, his skin was waxen and his eyes faded, his chest neither rose nor fell. The dead orc started to take a step forward, but paused as if listening to something. Then he was gone, loping impossibly fast towards the south. Towards Mordor.

Bilbo, holding his bleeding stump, laid his head against Thorin's shoulder. "Can we please bandage this and find Gandalf?"

Thorin stroked Bilbo's hair and swallowed. "Of course."

 

. . .

 

So the Battle of the Five Armies ended, with one stubborn dwarf and one stubborn hobbit learning exactly how much they loved each other. The traveled down to Gandalf and told him of the little gold ring and the undead orc. There they found Kili and Tauriel, who swore that they would stay together no matter what, and where the elf swore fealty to the dwarven king. The battle was searched and the dead lain to rest, but Fili's body?

It was never found.

 


	2. Twins Sculpted of Spells and Scales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet the twins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and edited last chapter because I was rereading it and went "I could add so much more to this," so yay for writing sprees!

The waves crashed against the cliff, sea spay flung into the air and settling on the scales of the women who paced their. Her eyes scanned the horizon and settled on the translucent bubble that surrounded the island. This island that was her home and her prison.

"Nia! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Nia'Ara leapt and twisted around ready to strike, and paused. Anyone else she would of probably threw off the cliff, but Kai'Ran was her twin and knew her pain. She sighed and dropped her fists, her gaze settling on the barrier. "It got worse."

Kai tipped his head, red eyes wide. "Worse? But yesterday you said it got better, what could possibly make your dragon sickness worse?" He moved closer to his twin till he stood beside her, his jewelry jangling slightly in the breeze.

Nia wrapped her arms around herself, frowning slightly. "Its as if the pull of the dragon was covering the pull of something else, something worse. Its death tore off that veil and revealed what truly was puling at me all along."

"Are you sure its dead?"

"Yes"

Silence fell on the twins as they contemplated this. Dragon sickness was serious, a threat to there kind. It risked their discovery, and after a millennia of hiding, that was the most terrifying thing that could threaten them. If the Elders found out it had gotten worse, Nia would be locked up until she died of the pull. Yet if she escaped, well no one had ever escaped the island, ever. They died before ever reaching the barrier, their shipped burned by fireballs or sunk by a summoned storm.

"Do you think you could get out?" Kai's voice was soft and uncertain.

Nia pulled at her ear uncertainty. "If I can reach the barrier I can get out."

"I ca-"

"No, your magic is distinctive, if you distract them you'll be locked up, and unlike me you do not want to leave."

Kai sighed and pushed his hands through his scales. "Well," he said with false levity,"It's a good thing that I can do subtle sometimes."

"What did you do?"

"More aptly, its what I created." Kai's teeth flashed white against his tan skin, his red eyes glowed with victory. "I didn't even work in my medians, so they can't trace it to me."

Nia's eye ridge raised as Kai dug into the belt pouch where he kept his horde. Out of it he pulled a silver loop earing and two silver studs connected by a chain made of amethysts. Nia crossed her arm but felt a smile cross her face. Trust her twin to think ahead, and then forget that as a fighter earrings where not the best choice.

Kai held up the silver loop. "When yo where this anything dragon-like about you will disappear. No dragon eyes and no scales. Since those on the mainland hate our distant ancestors, I figured it would be good to remove any trace of them." He held up the amethyst chain and silver studs next. "This will allow you to understand, speak, read, and write, any language you hear or see." He placed them into her hands and watched as she put them on.

"I figure you have your own copies to be able to give these to me."

He nodded. "Just incase things go wrong here, and I need to escape."

She smiled slightly then hugged him, he hugged back hard and fixed this moment in his mind. He might never see her again, his night-dark twin. She whispered a series of words into his ear, then rested her forehead against his. "Just in case you need to leave. Say those words at the barrier and it will open for you." 

Kai sighed. "Or I could just blow it up, that usually works."

Nia yanked one of the braids he had woven through his head scales. "Air head," she muttered with pain in her voice.

He laughed softly. "Takes one to know one. Do you have a boat and supplies."

"Yeah, I've had one for a while now."

"I better go, I don't want them to know I helped."

She stepped back, and smiled slightly. With no scales she looked odd and unfinished. Her dark skin smooth, her black head-scales didn't look right, and her purple eyes where too vibrant. "We will meet again."

Kai smiled sadly. "That depends on whether or not you believe we have souls. As one firmly in the 'we-are-magical-constructs-and-therefor-we-cannot-have-souls' camp, I think it is highly unlikely that we will."

"As one who knows the stories and as one who is pretty sure we have souls, I believe we will see each other again brother."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Nia turned to go get her boat, and Kai turned back to the village. Neither looked back. 

 


	3. Three Years and a Execution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not normally update this quickly.

Today was the day. After three years of the tortures the orcs and white wizard Saruman threw at him he would finally die. Fili vaguely wondered what had changed. Had Thorin refused whatever offer had been given, or where they simply bored with him? He'd had outlived his usefulness for sure. He couldn’t bring himself to care. It didn’t matter, and soon nothing would matter. No more pain, no more torture. He would be remade in the Halls of Mahal and the he would stay till the world was rebuilt.

With this promise in his mind he didn’t fight the orcs that surrounded him, didn’t fight as they took his bound arms and pushed him to the ground. What did they have to fear from him? He was malnourished and hadn’t touched anything that resembled a weapon in years.

The ground was cold on his face, sticky and wet. It had been raining, and for some reason that made him feel slightly better. As if the the sky itself had by shedding the tears he could not. The smell of wet earth filled his nostrils, and it beat the smell of orc filth anyday. Above him, a orc raised its sword, face twisted with gruesom delight. Fili was just glad there would be no torture before his death, no being buried alive or being ripped to shreds. Around him there was a cacophony of and cheers, and feet thudded the earth in an eager drumroll for his death. He waited, holding his breath, for the sword to drop.

There was the sharp sound of metal shattering into pieces and a shard of the sword cut his cheek.  _ What? _ Fili twisted so he could look up. There was a cloaked figure standing above him, one arm raised. The orc was in front of them, arm half raised, staring at what remained of the jagged blade. The figure moved almost to fast to track and the orc went flying back into the orcs behind it. The figure kept moving, dearming another orc and throwing it at the others. They fell into confusion, giving the figure time to yank Fili up and cut his bonds. He felt the hilt of the sword thrust into his numb hands. Violet eyes glowed from beneath the hood of the cloak.

“If you want to live dwarf, I suggest you start fighting.” The voice was cold, flat, and focused, it cut through his numbness to the rage beneath. Then the figure was gone in a swirl of movement and Fili was left with a orc sword in his hand and the rage he had kept a lid on for three years mounting in his chest. A orc swung at him and he parried, striking back with his sword into the orcs chest. It broke when he pulled it out, and he growled and threw it away. With reckless abandon he threw himself at the orcs. He would die today, but it would be  _ his  _ choice and not theirs!

Then he knew that this situation couldn’t be true, that he had gone mad locked in that tiny pit they had kept him in because sprilling above all the noise was his brothers voice. “Fili!”

“Kili.” He breathed. This wasn’t real, it could not be! He was being buried alive or tortured and had passed out and was dreaming! This could not be real! Bright pain blazed down his side and in that instant he knew that this was very real. “Kili!” He yelled, his voices raised to the heavens, “KILI!”

“FILI!”

And suddenly he was their in front of him, Fili’s younger, elf-loving, mischief-making, baby-faced brother. His hair had grown all though he still didn’t have a decent beard. There was a bonding braid in his hair, the style more elvish than dwarvish, and it was still as tangled as he remembered it being. He had a sword in his hands and his eyes gleamed with the light of battle. Fili could of cried, his eyes burned, but his body didn’t have the water to waste. The elf was there to, the red-haired one who Kili had been mooning over, her knives flashing as she made space for the two brothers to reunite at last. 

Kili was there, arms wrapped around him. “Fili,” he sobbed into his shoulder. Fili was numb yet torn by emotions he didn’t have the names for. 

“Kili . . . you’re here. How did you find me?”

Kili smilled, his teeth a beacon of white. “I left as soon as Oin pronounced me well and whole. Uncle Thorin would of sent us more help except that he and Bilbo where barely able to rebuild Erebor together even with the Company and Dain’s help.”

“Kili!” It was the elf, she stopped before them, her green eyes wide and a dwarven bonding braid in her vibrant hair. “I hate to cut the reunion short but we need to get moving.”

Kili’s eyes were wide. “What about the distraction?”

“We better hope he pulls through.”

Kili thrust something into Fili’s hands. It was a sword, his sword. He looked up and croaked, “I lost this when they took me.”

Kili’s grin flashed at him. “ I found it and have carried it for three years in the hope of returning it to you.” His laughter spilled into the air. “And to think I find you in Isengard after all this time! We will need to tell Gandalf of the White Wizard’s treachery.”

Fili nodded and hefted his sword. Even after all this time it still fit snugly into his palm. “If we get out of here.” As his word left his lips the respite the red-haired elf had given them was gone, turning into the clashing sounds of metal on metal and screams of pain. Slowly, almost too slowly, Fili’s skills returned to him, even though he was weak. He knew there were too many, knew that they would be overrun. His brother had come to save him only to be doomed himself.

It was while this certainty took hold that something extremely distracting happened. It was a sound, a sound that shook the earth and made it so the whole world froze in a ringing silence. Almost as one, orcs, dwarrows, and elf, turned and looked up to see black billowing smoke coming from Isengard, flames pouring from its windows. There was a figure silhouetted there that shouted something in a language that could not be understood, and the flames seemed to dim and the smoke started to clear and then there was an explosion louder then the first. Smoke glowing red filled the cloud drenched sky, the flames leapt higher as the tower shook, something in its foundation broken.

As if in challenge of this feat, the Fangorn forest began to move. An army strode out of the trees, one made of wood that was unstoppable in their anger. Fili felt a hand land on his shoulder. The elf bent down and whispered, “Let’s go while they are confused.” Kili tugged on his arm, pulling him forward as the elf swiftly cut down any who stopped them. Unnoticed they left the battlefield and headed toward to walking forest. 

Fili stumbled as they ran, dizzy and blurry-eyed, and Kili caught him, hoisting him up in his arms. When had Kili gotten so strong? Or rather to the point, when had he gotten so light? Blood trickled down his side, pooling in the waistband of what remained of his trousers. He heard footsteps catch up to them as they navigated through the wooden army. “What in Xur’Kar’s scales! He’s bleeding out!” The voice was weird, the inflections wrong.

“We did not have time to stop the bleeding.” The elf.

“You can heal him right? You said you could heal!” That was Kili, his voice close to Fili’s ear.

“Keep your scales on! I can heal, but what I cannot do is heal as I run from an army of orcs through an army of trees! Healing takes a lot of concentration and focus you know.”

“Concentration and focus are not only the same thing, but also something you are sorely lacking.” The elfs voice was gritted, and Fili couldn’t summon the energy to be surprised at the fact that she let feelings into her voice.

“I can stop the bleeding but it will be painful.”

Fili’s eyes fluttered open and he caught a glimpse of brown skin and red hair and glowing eyes. “Do it.” His voice cracked as he muttered the words.

“Whatever you say Mister Fili. I suggest you pass out.”

Heat like a million suns branded down his wound and Fili cried out and then he was in soft, cold, blissful darkness.

 

. . .

 

Kai’Ran blew the heat off his finger and started to tuck the long hem of his robe into his belt. Kili stared at him agast. “What did you do to him!?”

Kai shrugged. “I cauterized his wound, what did it look like I did?” He studied the dwarf in Kili’s hands and bit the inside of his cheek to keep from wincing. Fili now had a burn mark that went almost to the hip, the violent, inflamed flesh was a horrible contrast to the pale dirty skin that surrounded it. His golden hair was tangled and greasy, his limbs twisted and wasted. He was all skin and bone, a pitiful parody of what a dwarf should be.

Tauriel pushed them both. “We have no time to argue, we need to go to find a place to rest so Kai can heal Fili fully.” There was a scream behind them and her eyes were dark with worry. “ _ Now _ .”

They ran, Kili in front and Tauriel behind, shooting her arrows at the orcs that dare followed. Kai pushed her in front of him. “Go! I’m good for more than healing and explosions!”

Her eyes were grave. “Will what you do harm the ents?” What he did? He would do what he always did when he needed to do something big, and that was set fire to things. It was pretty much who he was, still he shook his head hard and turned around, planting his feet into the ground. He felt movement behind him, and when he turned back, Tauriel was following Kili. _Good, now lets see what I have to do to get a fire that refuses to burn wood._ He felt the familiar pull in his stomach as the heat pooled in his palm. The air shimmered, and little spark of light danced across his fingers. The little fire murmured in the way that all the fire he summoned did. _Food_ , it hissed, _‘m hungry_.

Kai’Ran bent over his little flame and murmured back, “ _ You will be fed. How does orc sound for supper?” _

_ Too far away, want to eat wood. It’s closer. _

_ “You can’t, at least not this wood.” _ A sullen silence from the flame.  _ “What about the magic that lays around this place like dusty cobwebs waiting to be cleared.” _

_ That, the orcs, and a little bit of you. _

_ “Deal.”  _ The flame in his hand grew till it was a blazing ball of light. He threw it in the direction of the orcs and didn’t stay to watch it alight on the magic of Isengard. It used to be he didn’t have to bargain, at home he could of just snapped his fingers and the fire would of never touched wood, but the mainland of middle earth wreaked havoc on his magic and he was reduced to barging his life force away.  _ Oh well, I’m a magical construct, what do I have to lose? _

As if in rebbutle of that thought, sheets of ice ran up his arm, and he cried out at the sudden pain, stumbling, desperately trying to stay on his feet.  _ “Greedy little thing,”  _ he growled,  _ “You took more than I offered.” _ In the back of his mind there was the self-satisfied laugh of his fire. 

_ ‘M hungry. _

Kai steadied himself, then ran after Kili and Tauriel as fast as his feet could carry him. Fire was a fickle friend, and he did not want it to feed on him.

  
  



	4. In The Forests of Fangorn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I said I probably wouldn't update regularly I didn't expect for it to take this long to write it!

Kai’Ran stumbled into the clearing while Kili was laying Fili down on the grass. Tauriel looked around, her bow drawn and an arrow nocked. “Did they follow?”

He stepped gingerly around the roots of the great tree that was strangling rocks and flanking the stream that cut through the clearing they had set up camp in. “Nope. Suitably distracted and not a tree on fire. Those orcs aren’t following anytime soon.”

She nodded, put down her bow, and laid a gentle hand on Kili’s shoulder, her eyes full of emotion. Kai looked away. Mainlanders where so odd with their googly eyes and deep sighs and everything. Tauriel’s voice was soft as she asked, “How is he doing?”

“He’s so pale, so small, he used to be so big, my bigger brother. What did they do to him in there?” He turned to look at Kai as his hands smoothed down Fili’s tangled hair. “You can heal him? Right?”

“Off course, no problem, like setting an explosion.” Kai gave a big grin that hid his queasy feelings. Healing meant focus, dedication, a attention to detail, and knowledge about what you were healing. He could do all that when making his jewelry and threading it with his magic, but healing? Simply put, he was better at blowing stuff up then putting it back together again.

“Talking about explosions,” Kili muttered as he was taking off his jacket to lay on Fili’s body. “How did you manage to blow up a wizard’s tower?”

Kai tilted his head and scratched his head scales. “What’s a wizard?”

Tauriel’s eyes grew narrow and suspicious while Kili facepalmed. “You don’t know what a wizard is?”

Kai felt dread start to churn, behind his back he let heat pool into his stiff hand. Was a wizard some kind of common knowledge? Something even children knew? “Uhhhhhhhhhh . . . nope.”

“Where did you say you where from again?”

“Oh, you know, not from around here. You know you two need to get some rest. You’ve barely slept since you got that secret raven thing you won’t tell me about. I can heal him and keep guard at the same time.” He yanked on one of his braids, uncertain of where he stood. He rather liked these people? At least as much as he liked anyone who was not his twin, and he would rather not do anything drastic.

“We will talk about this later.” Tauriel’s voice was soft and deadly, but she turned to Kili, stroking his hair and murmuring into his ear. Kia looked away, uneasy.  Why did mainlanders persist with their weird emotion thingy? He hoped it wasn’t contagious, soulless magical constructs shouldn’t feel things after all. When he turned back, Tauriel and Kili were making their bed roll. With one more yank on his braid, Kai walked over and knelt beside Fili’s sleeping form. He dismissed the heat in his hand and flexed it, testing to see how stiff it was. _Not very, good._ He thought, _Now is a dwarf’s muscle mass and bone density higher then a dravehnkin’s or less? No matter, it's time to get to work._

 

. . .

 

Fili woke with a jerk, pain flaring up his side. Where was he? What had happened? Then it all came back in a rush. His execution, the cloaked figure with the violet eyes, Kili and the elf, Isengard exploding, the walking forest. He groaned, placing his hand over his eyes. He felt weak and shaky, but he wasn’t on stone. It was grass, soft on his palm.

“What are you doing? Lay down and go back to sleep I’m not done. I can’t _concentrate_ with my patients moving all willy nilly!”

Fili looked through his fingers at the . . .  creature that was speaking and waving its arms around. It had light brown skin, red, slanted eyes, a sharp face, dark red hair that stuck up in spikes and haphazard braids woven through it. It also had very long pointed ears that were the length of his forearm and littered with gold and rubies. Fili swallowed at the sight, the last time he had seen gold his uncle had been poisoned by it. Even though the ears and the sheer amount of jewelry raised an eyebrow, perhaps the strangest thing about the creature was that it didn’t have any. Eyebrows, that is.

Fili shut his eyes immediately. Then opened them. The creature was still there.

“Well if you are not going to sleep then you might as well lay down. Healing takes a while after all. And don’t speak, at least not loudly, those two just got to sleep in the first time in days.” The creature tilted its head and Fili turned to look at the Kili and the elf, Tauriel? That was her name if he remembered right. They were curled up together, sleeping peacefully. Fili sighed and laid back down. The creature smiled brightly, held up its palms, and murmured, “I’m almost done, so don’t move.”

Warmth entered his body, infusing his veins and easing the pain in his side. It was kind of like getting a hot drink after being in the cold all day. Fili could feel himself relaxing as the creature muttered to itself and the warmth infused his bones. He heard it get up and move away, so he got up slowly, till he was sitting. His head swam, it was probably wise not to move any further. He curled his fingers into the furred jacket on his lap. Was it Kili’s? It looked about his size.

The creature returned with a cup in his hands and handed it to Fili. “This is entmoot. Treebeard says this is what the ents use this as food, and it seems to be filling so it should work for you as well. The ents are the giant trees that distracted the orcs so thoroughly yesterday.”

Fili took the cup then sipped. It was easily the best thing he had ever tasted, at least in three years. He started to chug it, but the creature yanked it away from him. “Not so fast!” It hissed, eyes going to lay flat against its hair. “You’ll throw up!” It handed it back and watched as Fili sipped slowly.

“I thought blowing up Isengard was the distraction?” He took another sip of the entmoot.

The creature pulled on one of its braids. “Well they both were.” His ears drooped. “This is probably a stupid question but what is a wizard?”

Fili stopped drinking immediately. “What’s a wizard? Everyone knows about wizards! Even hobbits know about wizards.”

The creature opened its mouth, but stopped itself and said, “Well I don’t, so if you could please explain it to me. _Please_.”

“Well, there are five wizards. Two blue ones that disappeared a long time ago. There’s Radagast the Brown who lives in Mirkwood, there’s Gandalf the Grey who travels around meddling and helping people, and there is Saruman the white who now works for the Dark Lord and whose tower got blown up.”

The creature waved his hands around. “That explains nothing!” It hissed angrily.

“Wizards are Maia sent by the Valar who were tasked with helping the denizens of Middle-Earth who opposed the Dark Lord. They use their magical arts to do this.”

“Thank you!”

“What are you?”

“What?”

“What are you?”

The creature frowned at him. “Just Kai’Ran, but everyone calls me Kai. Nice to properly meet you. I’m going to pass out soon, so you should probably sleep or something. Just don’t go near that tree.” Kai pointed at the tree by the clearing. “I swear it moved last night and then Treebeard said something about trees in the Fangorn that used to like blood, sooooo just leave it alone.”

Then Kai walked away, got out a bedroll, curled up, and fell asleep, leaving Fili alone. He looked up at the few spots of star speckled sky that the canopy revealed and decided to follow the strange creature’s advice.

 

. . .

 

Kai, of course, was not actually asleep. He may of been a soulless magical construct but that didn’t mean he abandoned his word! No, he was busy glaring at the tree, just waiting for it to make any threatening moves. The island didn’t have forests with moving trees, just large cliffs and a few shrubs. Most of the important buildings where on top, and the nests and hatcheries were carved into the cliffsides. He missed it, but here was better then there.

He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a gold wire, winding it around his fingers. It whispered to him as only gold did, offing ideas to shape it into. He took his pouch and pulled it close. It had been his first work, and anything he put in it would stay in it. A place where he could keep his horde. He had made Nia one too. His ears drooped and put the gold up to his nose to breathe in it’s sent. Where was she? He’d come from across the sea to find her and she was nowhere to be seen. He angrily shoved the gold back into his pack. He didn’t feel like sculpting anymore.

He laid there in the oppressive silence of the off the woods, feeling hollow and alone.

 

. . .

 

The next day brought clear skies and a cheery attitude. Treebeard had come back in the early hours of the mourning and relieved Kai of his guard. Tauriel had joined the ent and had managed to convince him to carry them out of Fangorn. So now Tauriel, Fili, and Kili where sitting on Treebeard’s many branches and Kai’Ran was wedged between a few, fast asleep. Kili was currently filling in Fili in on what had happened to Erebor during his time captured.

“So Balin became First Adviser to Uncle, and Dain had decided to stay awhile to help clean up the mess last time I heard. Dwalin is Captain of the Guard, Oin started a hospital to deal with all those injured in the battle, Gloin is Head Treasurer, Dori is quickly coming up to be Guildmaster, Nori is Uncle’s head spy and was speaking of opening a gambling den to get a finger on the pulse of the city, Ori is Uncle’s Head Scribe, Bifur got the axe in his head during the battle ripped out and was still in critical condition when I left, Bofur is the head of the peace talks with Dale, Bombur was pulling Erebor’s food supplies back in order, and Uncle and Bilbo finally realized they were each others One and Uncle is king and Bilbo and him are going to be married but not yet because you have to be there. I also think it is completely unfair that you won the bet on them and you weren’t there to collect!”

Fili felt slightly dizzy after all that info in one giant rush and gripped tighter on Treebeard’s branch to steady himself. “And Uncle is ok with you and Tauriel?”

Kili shrugged “Well, she did get exiled by Thrandriel for refusing to leave the battle and actually threatening him when he tried too. It’s not like he can complain either, his One is a hobbit, and we aren't married yet, finding you was too important.” Fili was finding it hard to breathe. For years he had thought that he had been abandoned, yet with every word Kili spoke it became more obvious that he hadn’t been. He was loved, and it made his eyes burn to know it. “Besides,” Kili continued, “I’m more afraid of ‘amad when she finds out. Thorin sent a raven to her before I left so she is on her way from the blue mountains with Gloin and Bombur’s families and the rest of Uncle’s people.”

“What’s that!” Tauriel had stood up, one hand pointing towards the horizon behind them, the other grasping Treebeard’s branches for balance. There was a second sun there, burning red and gold in the morning light.

“That would be the fire your long eared friend set. Despite consuming no fuel it has not died down.” Treebeard spoke in that slow, ancient way of his. “It is quite uncomfortable, and if your sleeping friend could be persuaded to snuff it out we would be much obliged.”

Tauriel sent a guarded look in Kili and Fili’s direction, then danced her way through Treebeard’s branches till she could shake Kai’Ran awake. He didn’t wake with grace. “What do you want,” he growled angrily.

“For you to put you fire out.”

“I set fires not stop them.”

“Well stop this one or you will answer to Treebeard.” Then she was dancing away to join Kili and Fili on their perch.

Kai sighed, yanked one of his braids, them stared grumpily at the fire. He certainly wasn’t going to argue with a talking, walking tree. Slowly the fire dimmed and then went out. “It’s done,” he grumbled, leaning against one of the branches.

“Many thanks.”

“You ents seem very ancient and wise and knowledgeable, I was wondering if you could tell me off the races of middle earth.”

“You happen to be in luck Master Firestarter, I can.” So Treebeard started his song of all the races of Middle Earth, and this song ended up taking most of the day, and when it was done Kili couldn’t help but say.

“You forgot about hobbits.”

“What, Master Kili, is a hobbit?”

“Well, you see a hobbit is . . .” And Kili told Treebeard of hobbits and their green thumb, peaceful ways, and hidden fierceness. Treebeard listened, occasionally ho humming and resolved to call an Entmoot to add a verse about hobbits into their song, but it wasn’t until long after Kili, Fili, and Kai fell asleep till Tauriel asked a question of her own.

“What is a dravehn? You mentioned them in your song, linking them to dragons, but I have never heard the term.”

“Hmmmmmmm, the dravehn were made in parody of dragons, like trolls where of my kind. There where not many of them, and they were wiped out long before the dragons where,” he answered, “Now get to sleep youngling, there is still quite a ways to go yet.”

 

. . .

 

It took them three days to traverse the Fangorn, and Kili used that time to fill in Fili on everything he and Tauriel had encountered on his three year search. He told Fili about the orcs and the spiders, about the trolls and the bandits, and about the deal they had made with Kai’Ran. His help in finding Fili, and their help in finding his twin. During this time they also plotted a course to a place where Fili could regain his strength.

In Lothlorien.

 


	5. Storms of Fire

Because of Fili’s weakened state, the group had to take several breaks every day, and it was during this time that Fili got to see one of the most hilarious things ever. It even beat Thorin’s pathetically obvious mooning over Bilbo, and Bilbo's obliviousness to it. It was Kili and Tauriel attempting to teach Kai’Ran how to use any weapon at all. Attempting was the key word because Kai was bad at any weapon the two tried to give him. He was even worse than Bilbo, and Fili hadn’t even known that was possible!

It was the third day of weapons training and the legendary patience of the elves had snapped. Fili, who had taken to not exactly resting but going slowly through the sword drills he remembered, had the pleasure of seeing Tauriel stomp off to the trunk of the lone scraggly tree that stood above the rolling grasslands like some old, decrepit king. Kili slowly backed away from Kai as if the strange creatures ineptness was contagious. Kai, just waved the bow he had been using at Kili. Kai had been practicing shooting today, and had actually struck the trunk of the tree for the first time in thirty tries, but had also somehow snapped the bow’s string at the same time. 

He’d had similar luck with sword, dagger, hand-axe, and sling.

Fili was starting to believe the strange creature was faking, no one could possibly have that bad of luck with weapons.

“What can I say,” Kai said, shrugging his shoulders as if this information could not possibly save his life someday. “My weapon is fire, it's useless for me to try anything else.”

“And if it's raining? What then?” Kili was still backing away from Kai, who stood unrepentant with the bow. Fifteen paces away, Tauriel could be heard making an impressive attempt at making elvish cursing sound vulgar, it sounded as if some dwarf words had been added to her long string of expletives as well. Kai shrugged again. “I doubt that rain could put out my fires.”

Kili and Fili exchanged a look, and for a second it was like the Company all over again, with Bilbo arguing with Thorin about how no respectable hobbit of the Shire would ever wield a weapon. But it was not the Company, and Fili was not the same dwarf he once was. Tauriel came stomping back, with the arrow in her hand, she held out her other hand. “The bow,” she said, and Kai handed it back sheepishly. Tauriel turned around to Fili and Kili, and said in a tired, despairing voice, “It didn’t even penetrate the bark, it bounced off.”

Kili shrugged, “Better than all his other tries, we were lucky we could find the arrows.”

As if in agreement with this statement, there was a loud clap of thunder that seemed to shake the air. The group looked up to see towering black clouds on the horizon. Kai’s ears drooped, “Nonononononono, not rain!” His wail was lost in another clap of thunder as light lit the clouds from within.

Tauriel and Kili exchanged a glance, the elf turned scanning the area while Kili yelled over the now howling wind, “We need to find shelter!”

“Where!” Fili yelled back.

Tauriel pointed, and in the distance could be seen a rocky hill with a overhang. “There!”

Fili, Kili, and Tauriel made for the outcropping, but Kai stood, staring at the dark clouds, his senses tingled as lighting played in the sky. This storm wasn’t natural, he knew it. The magic darted around his scales like spiders. He turned and raced towards the other three and shelter.

The wind had picked up considerably, and Tauriel’s vision was obscured by her whipping hair. She looked back at the storm, the lightning rippling through the sky in giant arcs. Kili and Fili ran behind her, then skidded to a stop beside her and stared in horror at their supposed shelter. Kai’Ran was lagging behind, occasionally stopping to stare at the storm.  She turned back to the shelter. What had looked from the distance to be the perfect shelter was no more than a somewhat lean-too flanked from one side by a hill covered in swaying grass. Tauriel gulped, one strike from lighting and their shelter would be up in flames, she turned, but Kili was already on it. “Kai! We need you to set fire to the shelter and the area around!”

Kai finished his run up. “How far?” He panted as his sides heaved.

Tauriel just gestured wildly, “Just do it!!!”

Fili was staring at the storm, face drawn and pale. “Do you think Saruman sent it?”

Kili put a hand on Fili’s shoulder. “It’s entirely possible.” Fili wondered vaguely when Kili had gotten so grown up.

Kai pushed the others into the stone shelter, then shook his hand and lit the little flames that danced on his fingers. They jumped up and into the grass, lighting it like tinder. Bright red flames lept to the sky, greedy and uncontrollable. It circled the small group and devoured the grass, leaving dark, scorched earth behind. Wild, uncontrollable, angry, it fought his control, fed by the angry winds, it laughed at him, refusing to be put out. The flames circled them in an violent dance, Fili’s voice rose from above the wind, faint and far away, “Put them out!”

_ What are you going to do little dravehnkin, you’re not what you once were, you don’t get to order us about.  _ The flames laughed at him, and Kai felt cold fear in the pit off his stomach. “ _ THR’K NIRE!!” _ He roared, hearing the dragon tongue leaving his lips before he could stop it. The flames winked out of existence, as if they had never been there, the dry earth left behind.He was yanked into the shelter right when the sky opened up. Thunder shook the air and lightning struck down into the dry grass, like fireflies little fires popped up. Little grounded stars spreading into a inferno that would have devoured them if all the fuel around them hadn’t been burned already.

They spent the remainder of the day and a long night in their little shelter, uncomfortable and wet, but not consumed by flames.

 

. . . 

 

Fili woke to a burning brand up his side. In panic, he twisted and saw Kai leaning on him in his sleep, and beyond him Kili and Tauriel squashed together in the cramped confinement of their shelter. Fili started to hyperventilate, there were too many, too close. He scrambled out into the morning air, trying desperately to regain his breath. There was a cold breeze that played with his brother’s jacket and his hair and beard. The sky above was blue with no trace of clouds. A lovely day, except the earth was bare and still carried a little bit of heat from last nights fire. Slowly Fili began to relax.

“Fee?”

He jumped and turned to see Kili there, his eyes tired and his hair mussed with sleep. “Are you alright?”

Fili sighed and looked at his hands. “Yes, no, not really.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kili’s eyes were wide and concerned. Fili glanced at their little shelter where Kai and Tauriel could just be seen. Kili gently steered him a little ways off, not touching, just there. “ _ Is this better?”  _ He asked in khuzdul.

“ _ Yes. _ ” Fili sighed and kept on looking at his hands. “ _ The orcs . . .”  _ The words didn’t want to come. He swallowed and wet his cracked lips. “ _ The orcs, when I fought back or missbehaved . . . there was this pit, they would leave me in their for days. I had no food or water and the walls were so close and I couldn’t breathe and I-” _

Kili interrupted what was about to become a long panicked spill. He placed his forehead against Fili’s softly. “ _ I know Fee, I know.”  _ To be stuck in a small space with no food or water was the worst possible situation for a dwarf. So as Fili shook, Kili held him, smoothing down his hair and staying with him till he ran out of tears.

It took them another week to reach the edge of Lothlorien, and there was no other magic blown storms that threatened their path. 

 

. . .

 

The woods of Lothlorien stood before them, white trunks and golden leaves glittering. The setting sun cast shadows under the trees, dark and light contrasting and making the woods seem almost threaning. From another world and not for mortal eyes. Fili took a step back, “do we make camp here or in the woods?” 

Tauriel’s face was uncertain, her fingers gripping Kili’s. “I do not know. It has been a long time since any of the dwarven race has stepped foot in these woods.”

“Well we have to try, might as well step in and make camp before fully dark.” Kili’s face was drawn and pale. He, Tauriel, and Fili stood still, suddenly uncertain of weather they would be welcome or not.

Kai’Ran didn’t know enough to share their fears. He strode up to the towering trees, his red robes swishing. “Hello?” he called, “Is anyone there? We have injured and are need of a place to stay for the night!” His voice echoed creepily through the trees. For a second there was nothing, then a slim figure slipped through the trees, bow drawn and pointed at Kai. 

“Who are you to ask for sanctuary in the Golden Woods?”

Kai stumbled back, hands raised and ears down in a non threatening manner. Tauriel stepped forward hastily. “I am Tauriel, of Mirkwood, this is my One Kili and his brother Fili. The hot headed fool is Kai’Ran. Fili is in need of healing and a place of rest, he has been held in Isengard, a prisoner to orcs. We need to alert the Lady Galadriel to the White Wizards treachery!”

The bow was turned down just a fraction, but the elf’s face was still hard and cold. “Lies, exiled child of Mirkwood. It must be all Lies.”

“If we need to prove it, I can show the scars.” Fili stiffened as the words left his mouth, but Kili palm on his shoulder comforted him. The elf’s eyes softened slightly, with a sigh she put her bow up.

“There is no need, I see the marks on your soul. I am Trastadis, and I can take you to a safe place for the night, and in the mourning escort you to the Lady. You will be under watch, our borders are not safe, not any longer. Come, follow me.” The elf turned, and headed back into the woods. Fili, Kili, and Tauriel followed, with Kai trailing behind, staring at the trees in thinly veiled horror. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THR’K NIRE!! = SHUT UP!!
> 
> I am so excited for next chapter! *insert evil laughter here*


	6. The Golden Woods and its Lady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that its been a while! My computer broke down so I haven't had a chance to write, but here a super long chapter (for me) to make up for it!  
> Also Galadriel is op.

In the morning Trastadis led them through the Golden Woods. The soft light shown through the boughs and leaves of the trees, dappling the earth in shadows and gold. It was a pretty sight, and Fili couldn’t help but feel somewhat safer now that they were in the protected woods. Trastadis led them in silence, and the others followed her example. Occasionally there were figures flitting through the trees, Fili could see them from the corner of his eyes.

They were being followed.

Kai’Ran sidled up to him, he was pulling on his braid and his face was nervous. “What did she mean yesterday by saying she could see your soul?”

Fili looked at him in surprise, “Some elves can see into others souls, the Lady Galadriel is supposed to be one of the best at this. Did you not know?”

Kai scowled and gave his braid a particularly vicious yank. “No. Otherwise I wouldn’t be asking, now would I?”

“As if anyone would want to see into your soul, creature.” Trastadis’s voice was cold.

Kai made a face and stuck his tongue out at her back. Kili  sniggered and Tauriel eyes were alight with laughter. Fili heard Kai mutter under his breath for a few seconds before he called out, “How much further?”

The elf’s voice cut any other possible chatter out of the equation. “In a few minutes.”

She was right, in a few minutes they came across a huge tree that reached towards the sky, branches long and white with a elegant staircase sculpted out of the pale wood. Fili could have sworn that it had not been there before. He felt grubby in comparison to the towering behemoth of silver and gold.

Kai made a faintly disgusted noise.

Trastadis strode forward and started up the stars. The small groups invisible guard parted from the trees around and pushed the group up. The going was slow, and Fili was exhausted by the time they reached the top. They were forced into single file beside each other as the elves circled the platform, armer gleaming in the light. Trastadis stood at the base of another staircase directly opposite, and after a few minutes of waiting, called out, “The Lady Galadriel and the Lord Celeborn.” 

They descended from the stairs like starlight given form. Celeborn, in grey and white, stopped at the last step as Galadriel stepped forward. She was power given form, in a dress of silver and white that seemed to glow, with a crown of silver and hair that was a waterfall of pale gold. Her eyes were dark and serene, and her smile was gentle. Tauriel bowed in the elven way, Kili and Fili in the dwarvish. Out of the corner of his eye, Fili saw Kai expose his throat, avert his eyes, lay back his ears, and somehow almost shrink.

Galadriel strode forward, her hand clasping Tauriel’s. “Daughter of Mirkwood, I welcome you here.” Her voice was music and her smile light. She turned to Fili and Kili, her dark eyes warm and welcome, kneeling in her beautiful dress and to clasp their shoulders with her hands. “Children of Durin, you may stay here, for as long as needed.” Fili noticed Celeborn’s jaw stiffen, but he did not argue. Not many of the elves looked happy, stony faced and silent. 

Kili looked at Galadriel, his face worried and drawn. “My lady, we are glad you would share your home with us, but we have grave news from Erebor. A messenger from Mordor appeared at our gates and demanded friendship. Uncle Thorin has managed to stall. The messenger will appear will ask twice more, a month between each. By the third, if he has no answer, he will arrive at with an army at his back. The men of Dale stand with us, but we dare not ask for help from Thrandriel. Our treaty with his is unstable at best, and he has closed his borders and allowed none in! I beg of you  my lady, lend us a way to get Thrandriel on our side!” 

Tauriel gripped Kili’s hand tightly. “Please, my lady.”

Galadriel’s voice was grave. “This dire news. When you departe I will send with you one of my own. With their presence, you should be allowed into Thrandriel’s borders and an audience with him. I cannot force him to help you, but I can ease your way there.”

Kili bowed again. “Thank you my lady. If I could ask one last thing. Could we borrow a raven to send a message to Erebor?”

Galadriel gave a wane smile. “Of course you may.” She stood and turned to the elves around them, her eyes alighting on one. “Trastadis! You may accompany them to Mirkwood when they leave.”

Trastadis’s eyes had widened, her face shocked. “But my lady! I would not be far from Lothlorien in this trying time! My skills are needed here!”

Galadriel smiled. “Trastadis, you are my personal guard, Thrandriel will be more inclined to listen to somebody of such high position rather than one of low.” Trastadis looked devastated, and Kai snickered sightly, drawing Galadriel's attention to him. Her face registered blank shock, then she tipped her head and said in a language that sounded simply wrong, “Fekiikiri, vrak di Xur'Kar, aldoer ekess Lothlorien. Coi tepohaic coanwor vi drong tairais li ir di dout cirau tepohaic cun’tar tenpiswo.”

Kai looked as if he had been smacked across the face with a warhammer. His eyes narrowed in suspicion and he completely lost his submissive look. “Ava'yorn ekess wux ekess, bvecko vaecaesin svaust vucotic idol kiri kiarf.”

Galadriel smiled sightly. “Si vucata Sei’Aan.” She turned away from Kai shocked face and said to the gathering, “Give them a place to sleep, somewhere where they will be comfortable.” She swept out with Celeborn, conversing lowly in elvish, and left a hushed silence where she had been.

Trastadis followed Galadriel with her eyes, then turned and sighed as she stepped forward towards the small group. “I will lead you to a place to sleep and regain your strength.” Her face had a pained look on it as she led them down the great stars and to rest.

 

. . .

 

Trastadis led them to the roots of a tree that stretched up to the sky. THe silver roots made a wide hollow and in it was soft grasses and moss. “I trust this will do?”

Tauriel set her pack down. “Yes it will. Thank you.”

Kili poked Fili in the side with his elbow and said, “So Trastadis, if Galadriel is so powerful, why have a personal guard? The title sounds a little bit like a fake too me.” Fili rolled his eyes and Tauriel hid a smile. Trastadis stiffened and stared angrily at the ground.

“It is an honored position. I … the elf who guards her is there not for her safety, but so she can save her strength for the more important battles.”

“Then why were you out by the border and not beside her?”   
“Because, dwarf, that was were I was needed, for as long as she is within Lothlorien she is safe.” Tarstadis’s voice was stiff. “Besides, if I were you, I would worry a little less about me and more about that strange creature you call a friend. He keeps secrets from you, ones that may cause you harm.”

The strange creature in question hadn’t been listening and instead been putting up his bedroll muttering to himself in his odd language. He didn’t acknowledge the elf’s dig, not even looking up at her and glaring, instead he sat and stared at his hands, pale, shaken, and scared.

Fili wondered what Galadriel had said to scare him so.

 

…

 

Kai’Ran was avoiding people and questions, but mainly questions. Trastadis was annoying and seemed to blame him for her task, and took this out on him by ruthlessly prying into his personal thoughts.  _ What are you? Who are you? What language did you speak to my lady? Why so many secrets? _ Her questions were constant, and although Fili, Kili, and Tauriel tried to dissuade her questions, it wasn’t with all there heart. They knew he kept secrets, and wanted to know what they where, and if the rude elf kept asking, why not use her digging to find out?

Kai had decided to take a strategic retreat and had gotten lost.

Which was why he was wandering around aimlessly trying to decide if he wanted to go back or just leave them alone. 

That was the state Lady Galadriel found him in. She inclined her head at him and her eyes gleamed with hidden power. “ _ Good day, Kai’Ran, how has your visit to Lothlorien been?”  _ Her accent was flawless, and Kai couldn’t help but roll his eyes. She had said she had known Sei”Aan, and the fact that she knew his language seemed to support that. Yet the tales of Sei’Aan had never mentioned elves, but then again, he had never been as interested as his twin in legends.

“ _ It’s been interesting. Your personal guard is a menace.” _

_ “She does not trust you?” _

_ “She sees my secrets and nothing else.” _

_ “Unfortunately, that has always been her way. Hopefully this experience will open her eyes.”  _ Galadriel started to walk down a path only she could see. “ _ Would you walk with me? I wish to show you something.” _

Kai shrugged and then started to follow her. “ _ What do you want to show me?” _

_ “You are uncomfortable in my presence.” _

_ “I have never met someone more powerful than me. Back home there were a few that were close but none to my level. It is unnerving to meet someone who wears power like a cloak.” _

_ “You worry you are broken.” _

Kai stumbled.  _ “What?” _

_ “I see it in your soul. You think you are broken because your magic does not work the way you belive it should.” _

Kai felt his shoulders slump. He wasn’t used to people seeing through him. Nai could, but she was his twin and they always knew when the other was bullshitting. “ _ At home my magic was mine, I could control it without a thought. Now I struggle to control even the slightest spark, and anything bigger requires me to bargain. This place wrecks havoc with my magic.” _

_ “Or perhaps your home changed your magic, and now it is going back to the way it was always supposed to be. What I will show you should help to find out why.” _ With those words she glided into a perfectly circular clearing. The sunlight came through the golden leaves, danced of the silver woods, and was drawn into a stone pillar with a wide bowl. It was covered in pale moss and behind it was a crystal stream that trickled through the green grass. Beside the stream was a copper pitcher, wedged between the roots of one of the trees. Galadriel gestured with one pale arm towards the pillar and bowl. “ _ This is the Mirror of Galadriel, it will show you glimpses of the past, the present, and the possible future. Sometimes it is not pleasant, but hopefully it will help you find out what plagues you.” _

She moved toward the pitcher and filled it with water, pouring the liquid into the bowl. Kai nervously glanced around and moved into the clearing. “ _ Kinda weird to have to say the Mirror of Galadriel when you are Galadriel.” _

The elf smiled slightly, and gestured toward the bowl.  _ “Look.” _

Kai moved over and looked into the Mirror, the liquid had turned dark and glossy, the liquid seemed to swirl, little lights in it glinting. Dizzy, Kai leaned forward and grabbed the sides of the bowl, his breath caught in his throat and . . .

_ He was walking, shoulders hunched and arms wrapped around his waist. The sea breeze played with his scales and dried his tears. He was ten again, very young for a dravehnkin. His magic had just been bound, he had too much and was too young and could not control it. He could have killed everyone on the island and himself, but not now. Now he was weak, vulnerable, an abomination with no protection. _

_ His ears twitched , his head jerked up and stared in fear at the three dravehnkin that were headed his way. They were older then him, stronger than him, and now had no fear of repercussions. Who after all would protect a abomination? It was at this time Kai hated the twin he had never met. Because she had decided to share his egg and stay alive, he was hated. Because of her he would never be accepted. _

_ He didn’t fight when they started to push him around, laughing and joking. He didn’t have the strength, didn’t have the power. He just curled into a little ball and hoped his thin scales would be enough protection. He felt a fist against his shoulder, heard a pained yell that was his own. _

_ “LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!” The yell was high and shrill, with just the trace of power to it. He heard a thud and a yell of pain. He uncurled slightly to see a small dark dravehnkin harassing one of his attackers. His attacker was backing up, then fleeing. The dravehnkin turned on the other attackers, violet eyes flashing and sharp white teeth bared. The other two took a uncertain step back. The small dravehnkin lunged, fists and feet a whirlwind of punches and kicks.  Kai uncurled fully to watch as the small dravehnkin drove his attackers back. They ran and the small dravehnkin turned to help him up.  _

_ “Are you o-” Her voice trailed of, her hand lax in the air, staring at him wide eyed. Her hand rose to touch the red scales on his cheek, then the black ones on hers. “We’re the same.” _

_ She was right. Though her skin was darker, her scales thicker, her eyes violet instead of red, and her lip busted, their features were the same. The same nose, the same thin lips, the same cheekbones, the same slant to her eyes. His twin. _

_ “I’m Nai’Ara.” She murmured. _

_ “I’m Kia”Ran.” He took her offered hand and let her help him up. _

_ The scene shifted, he was trapped between rocks a massive hand reaching down to grab him. His fire tickled the palm of that hand, scorching it, but the skin was too thick and the creature did not feel the pain. He heard a yell, sounded like a word.  _

_ “TROLL!” _

_ There was a yell of pain, a cry of battle, and the massive hand jerked back in pain. Kai filled away that this this creature that had trapped him in this corner was a troll. He stayed in his rock shelter till the sounds of battle ceased. He did not want to run into any other potential hostiles. _

_ “Lets seen what it had cornered.” _

_ He heard footsteps come is way, gathered the heat into his palm. It came sluggishly, like it was reluctant to burn. He got ready for a battle to come. In his view came two creatures, one tall, red haired, and female, the other short, dark-haired, and male. They stared at him and the flame in his palm with wide eyes. _

_ The scene shifted, he was on a stone path set on the side of a mountain. A stone wall hid him partially from view. Nai was beside him, cloaked in darkness, violet eyes wide and teeth sharp and white. There was something off about her, something wrong with her silhouette. _

_ The stone beneath his feet shook, a sound thundering into the air. Stone crashing on stone. He stumbled, nearly fell, Nai caught him before he could. “What do you say brother?” Her voice was velvet, her smile vicious. “Shall we give them a taste dravehn power?” _

_ Kai smiled back, equally vicious. “We shall.” _

_ In a dark rush she was gone, diving off the battlements to the crowd below, her laugh turning into a roar the echoed through the air. Kai gave an answering laugh and summoned two tame flames that spiralled into his palm. _

_ The scene shifted, swirling into a dark cavern deep below the earth. His hands were bound and he was being forced forward by a pale skinned, blue scaled dravehnkin. Her lips were twisted into a snarl and her cerulean eyes flashed with anger. Kai didn’t try to struggle as she pushed him further into the earth. Even though she was the second most powerful on the island, she was still more dravehn than him. Most powerful, he reminded himself, he no longer got to claim that title. _

_ “How could you!” She railed, her voice echoing in the dark tunnels. “How could you help her!” _

_ “She is my twin!” _

_ “She was an abomination! Cursed by her blood and now she will bring us down with her!” _

_ “She will not!” _

_ “Of course she will! It is the only thing an abomination is good for!” _

_ “She’s my sister!” _

_ “She is an abomination and so are you!” She threw him away from her, across the cavern they had just entered. He slammed into the cavern wall and felt the pain spike in his back. He tried to burn his ropes, to try to get away! But the elders had bound his magic, and she would extinguish it.  _

_ Kai looked at her, eyes pleading and ears drooping. “E’Dar please! Don’t leave me here!” _

_ She growled at him, lips pulled back to reveal her sharp teeth. “You will be bound, your magic extinguished, buried beneath the rock and soil of our island. Your name will wiped from the records, forgotten like you. You will be left here to rot, to be fertilizer for our island. You are nothing, you mean nothing, and anything you were will become nothing.” _

_ Kai cried out in pain as the word bound his magic, took it from him and buried it so it could not be found. He couldn’t breathe, he was in to much pain. His fire was gone, he was weak, he curled into a ball, shaking as the cold seeped under his scales. _

_ Her voice filled the air, a soft malevolent hiss. “The passageways out will be bound, and you will never be let out, you abomination!” Her voice became a roar then fell back to a whisper again. “Oh Kai’Ran if only you hadn’t helped her, you could of been great.” _

_ There was the sound of shifting stone and he was left huddling, a broken, abandoned, abomination. _

Kai yanked back from the mirror, painting with fear. He stumbled back, hand shaking, his eyes would not focus, he could not breathe! A hand cut him from his panic, a cool voice heard half within his head and half without. “ _ Do not worry, the panic will pass. Sei’Aan had a similar reaction, but she learned from what the mirror showed.” _

Kai didn’t want to listen, he wanted Nai there. She would know what to do. She would have sat by his side, grooming his scales and humming snatches of song, waiting till he was calm and ready to talk. How could he of been so foolish! He should of left with and not stayed and hoped to be accepted! Should have remembered that as an abomination he would have never fit in. He stared at lady Galadriel with wide eyes. “ _ Sure, yeah, whatever you say.”  _

Then he turned and fled into the forest alone.

 

. . . 

 

“Hey, where's Kai’Ran?”

Kili looked and stared at Fili, Tauriel, stopped sharpening her blades. She looked up. “He has been gone for some time,” she said.

Trastadis stilled the practice she was doing with her glaive. “Probably off somewhere moping.” She stabbed the air in a particularly violent motion.

Fili glared at her. “You didn’t have to take your anger out on being assigned with us on him. If you hadn’t asked so many questions he would still be here.”

Trastadis stopped completely and glared at him. “Well if he would answer we wouldn’t be here would we? His secrets could get us killed.”

Fili ground his teeth, as Tauriel started to get up and glare. Kili held his hands up in a peaceful manner, “Now why don’t we just all calm down and start looking for him? He is probably out there somewhere lost and minutes away from burning Lothlorien to the ground. So let us go and find him.”

Trastadis’s eyes widened and she jerked into a elven bow.”My lady!”

Fili twisted to see Lady Galadriel standing there, ethereal in her white dress. She smiled slightly at them. “Fili, Kili, and Tauriel, if you could come with me.” The three exchanged uncertain glances then started to follow her as she walked away.

“My lady, what about me!” Trastadis’s voice was almost pleading.

Galadriel waved on white hand. “I will speak to you later.” 

She led them through the woods in silence, her bare feet sure and she stepped through the trees. Fili kept an eye out for vivid hair and jerky movements, but Kai was nowhere to be seen. As if she could sense his thoughts, which she probably did, she spoke. “Your friend is safe, he is by the river, and you may find him after you see what I show.”

“And what is it you are showing us?” Kili asked.

Galadriel smilled. “My mirror.” And with those words they entered a circular clearing. The Lady moved towards the pillar in the middle with purpose in her steps.

“Your mirror, my lady?” Tauriel’s face was pale.

“It shows the past, present, and possible future.”She stirred the waters with a finger. “You may look if you wished to.”

Tauriel took a hasty step back. “I do not wish to know what the future may hold, my lady. I mean no offence.”

Galadriel smiled. “None taken.”

Kili shifted uncomfortably. “Umm, I don’t really want to look either. I don’t want to know if Erebor falls or not or anything like that.”

Galadriel tilted her head in acknowledgement, her dark eyes focused on Fili. “And you, princling?”

“I think one of us should look, so … um … sure?”

Galadriel stepped back, arms wide. “Then look.”

Fili stepped forward, uncertain, and looked into the dark waters of the mirror. At first nothing, then the waters shifted, and then … 

_ Kili was in a bed, his face pale and his eyes wide. Tauriel sat beside him, her face drawn and her hand laying in Kili’s. Kili was wild, his tone worried, “We have to find him! He’s out there I know it!” _

_ Tauriel looked tired, she was not the perfect creature that all elves were. “We will Kili, the minute you get better we will.” _

_ Kili settled back down, there were large circles under his eyes. “If I get better. You heard Oin, I might never walk again.” _

_ Tauriel bent her head, but her voice was certain. “You will learn to walk again.” _

_ “And if I can’t?” _

_ “Then I will walk in your sted.” She leaned over and kissed him gently. _

_ The scene shifted, Thorin was pacing by the throne, looking broken. Bilbo stood near him, worrying at his bandaged stump. “Thorin, calm down.” His voice was pleading and worried. _

_ Thorin twisted, his face was desalated. “Bilbo I can’t. He’s missing, like my father was missing, and when my father was missing he was in Dol Guldur! Fili’s out there! I just have to find him!” _

_ “I know Thorin!” Bilbo moved to stand in front of the dwarven king, his hand cupping Thorin’s cheek. “I know, but we do not have the time. You heard what Gandalf said, we must prepare for the worst.. I know you want to go and look for him, but we need you here. I need you here.”  He leaned his head against Thorin’s and held him as he wept. _

_ The scene shifted, he was in Thranduil's halls. The elven king was before him, his robes swirling and eyes flashing. In the shadows was his son, stiff, and blank, no emotion showing but for the widening of his mind. _

_ The scene shifted, he was on the battlements with Thorin. His uncle looked old and worn, but his eyes smiled as he looked at him. Kili was on Thorin’s other side, staring out into the wave of orcs in front of Erebor. “This is the end, isn’t it?” Kili’s voice didn’t shake, but he had a white knuckled grip on the wall in front of him. _

_ Thorin looked out, his profile etched by the rising sun. “If it is, we will go down in glory.” _

Fili yanked back, gasping in surprise, he swallowed slightly. “That's quite unnerving.”

He felt Kili’s hand on his shoulder, his voice was curious. “What did you see.”

“You, Thorin, Thranduil, Erebor.”

Galadriel looked him. “It can be an odd sensation, your friend found it that way too.”

Kili, Tauriel, and Fili exchanged a glance and Fili sighed, “I’ll go find him.”

 

. . .

 

Kai was curled into a ball, staring at the moving waters of the river. He flexed his hand, summoning a flame, on, then off, on, then off. The heat curling against his palm a certainty that he held onto desperately.  _ You could of been great.  _ On, off, on, off, he had his magic, there was no stone over his head, on, off, on, off, on, off.

“Hey Kai, there you are.”

Kai turned his head to see Fili standing there, moving toward him with certain steps. Great, he totally needed to be bothered right now. Fili moved over to sit beside him. Kia tracked him with his eyes, hoping he would go away.

“Galadriel told me you were here.”

“Oh?”

“I looked into the mirror.”

“Good for you.” 

Silence descended on them while Fili studied Kai’Ran’s defeated posture. “What did it show you?”

Kai just stared at the waters, summoning the flames. On, off, on, off.

Fili continued hesitantly, “I saw Kili and Thorin trying to rush to find me when they where in no condition to, I saw Thranduil and his stiff son, I saw Erebor besieged by an army.”

Kai picked up a rock and jiggled it up and down in his palm. In his other hand his flames flickered on, and off, on, and off. “I saw Nai, and thing that I would rather forget.”  _ You abomination.  _ Kai threw his rock violently at the river. It made a satisfying plunk and it hit the water.

Fili sat silently for a few seconds. “I’m sorry.” He winced as Kai threw another rock. “Would you like for me for to teach you to skip rocks?”

Kai straightened and stared at him. “Skip rocks?”

Fili shrugged. “If you don’t want to talk about it I won’t push you.”

Kai frowned slightly, “Well then, by all means teach me how to skip rocks.”

“Well, you first have to pick the right rock.” Fili held up a smooth oval stone. “Then you hold it like this, and throw it like this.” He threw the rock, and the stone skipped on the water once, twice, three times, then sunk. “Kili was alway better at this then I was.”

Kai looked at the banks then picked up a stone. He held it up. “Will this one work?”

“It should.”

Kai held the stone the way Fili had, then threw it the way Fili had thrown it. It slipped through the air perfectly, then hit the water with a heavy thunk. Kai winced slightly. Fili made a face. “Perhaps I should teach you on a calmer river.” He looked at Kai who was glaring at the river. “ If you ever need to talk, I’m here.” He stood up, and offered his hand. “Let’s get back to the others.”

Kai looked at his hand and remember another, smaller, darker one. He took it. “Yeah, lets. And Fili, thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fekiikiri, vrak di Xur'Kar, aldoer ekess Lothlorien. Coi tepohaic coanwor vi drong tairais li ir di dout cirau tepohaic cun’tar tenpiswo. = Greetings, child of Xur'Kar, welcome to Lothlorien. It has been a long time since one of your kind has walked here.  
> Ava'yorn ekess wux ekess, bvecko vaecaesin svaust vucotic idol kiri kiarf. = Hello to you to, strange elf who knows way too much.  
> Si vucata Sei’Aan = I knew Sei'Aan


	7. Conversations in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trastadis was never supposed to be a major character.

Trastadis was practicing. She was always practicing at this time of night. The moon’s glow drifted down through the golden leaves, bathing her in its cold light. The silver bark of the trees glinted slightly in her vision. The night was quiet, the faint hum of insects a background noise in her mind, occasionally a bird call would be added to the choir. It was at this time she could think, the soft darkness around her allowing the thoughts to rise unbidden in her mind. 

Why her?

The question came every night since she was chosen, giving her no rest when she tried to sleep.

Why her?

Yes, she was skilled with bow and knives. Yes, no one matched her level of expertise when it came to the glaive. Still, there were dozens in the ranks that matched her level of the customary weapons, and many were more diplomatic then her. Yes, the position of her lady’s personal guard would bring her status. Still, a King listen to a person guard? Might as well pull anyone from the ranks and give them her lady’s blessing for all the good it would do. Yes, she was a skilled healer, trained by Galadriel herself, but there were dozens better.

Why her?

She had never left the Lothlorien, had never been inclined to, but why would she be? There was nowhere else as beautiful as the Golden Woods, nowhere more important than standing by her lady’s side. She should be here! Protecting her home! Not galavanting about in two days time to a darker wood and a place once ruled by a dragon! She should be here!

Here glaive cut the air in wide arcs as she increased the tempo of her paces, her face a carefully constructed mask of blankness, not betraying the turmoil within.

Why her?

_ It will all be revealed in time.  _ Where those not her lady’s words to her? Had Galadriel not given her the chance to look into her mirror? Yet she had refused! Why? Seeing what was to come mave have brought some peace to the turmoil within!

She slowed back down, allowing herself to fall into a more defensive pattern. Her glaive was heavy in her hand, the smoothness of the wood comforting in her palm.

She had not looked because she was afraid. Afraid of seeing whatever her lady had. Seeing why she should be sent away. Afraid of being convinced that this was the best course of action. She calmed her breathing, allowed herself to slow to a stop.

She was afraid.

She hated being afraid!

“Wow.” A slow clapping filled the air. “That was impressive.”

Trastadis opened her eyes and glared at the creature. It’s red eyes glowed in the dark, a white, crooked smile slashed across its face. Secrets like shadows lay heavy on its shoulders, yet it didn’t seem to feel their weight. She didn’t exactly like this creature, she didn’t like the way it treated the hurt in its soul, like it wasn’t there and didn’t matter. She didn’t like that it kept secrets that could kill the group she found herself tied to.

“I’m glad you find it so.” Her words were dry and cold and hard when they left her mouth.

The creature’s ears tilted, it’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t like me, do you?” The words were perfectly fine, the tone slightly sarcastic, but she felt something threatening and hurt in the way its ears twitched and it’s soul flickered.

“You keep secrets that could kill us.”

“You're good at reading body language.”

“I’m good at reading souls.” Perhaps that was why Galadriel had chosen her? There were not many that had that ability. She put that thought away to mull over later.

The creature gave a shrug. “Can’t be souls, so it has to be body language.”

“Why can it not be souls?” She started to move again, going through her paces, She needed the movement to clear her head and allow her thoughts to come untangled.

“First secret, I don’t have a soul.”

She allowed her shock to be transformed into movement. “You lie, everything living has souls.” She knew this. She could see the glimmer in the bark of trees, the threads in the movement of a squirrel. The threads were thicker in sentient beings. In Galadriel they were rivers of iridescent light. In this creature they were like dark flames, flickering and hard to see. There one minute and gone the next.

“I don’t.”

“I see it in you.”

“You need to get your eyes checked.”

Anger into movement, disbelief into movement, surprise into movement, emotions into movement. She kept moving, kept up the dance of the glaive while her face stayed passive. A slight glance supported that he believed what he said, told in the darkening of the flame. “If you say so.” She allowed not emotion in her voice, all emotions went into the spinning blade of her weapon.

“I do.” False confidence, a trace of doubt. “You should get to sleep.” A change in topic to hide his uncertainty.

“So should you.” She practiced until he turned his back to hers, till his soft hurrs filled the air. She allowed her thoughts to rise and fall with her glaive. A creature with a soul that believed he was soulless, that could explain the hurt in him. Was this why Galadriel had chosen her? Because she could navigate this group better with her sight? If so it wasn’t working so well. Would her ability be needed during the trip? Was this why she was chosen?

The thoughts came and the thoughts went, and when she was done she turned her face to the sky and breathed in the crisp air. Her mind was clear, her emotions calmed. She was ready for what tomorrow might bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! Trastadis means bride of trouble.


	8. Letters To and Fro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! I'm not dead!!!  
> "italics"-in dravhen

Dear Uncle,

 

It’s Kili, we found him. Fili is alive uncle, alive and getting better! He was held at Isengard, a prisoner to the White Wizard. They hurt him Uncle Thorin, he’s not the same, he’s more solemn, and he’ll freeze occasionally. He hurts and I’m trying my best to help but I’m not sure it will be enough. He needs you, he needs mum, and he needs the company.

We are in Lothlorien, taking time so Fili can recover. The Lady has ravens here! Big ones, bigger then the ones in Erebor although they don’t have the same intelligence in their eyes. Galadriel says that they will fly fast and sure for us, and I hope she’s right. The woods here are glorious, trees made of silver and gold. It's almost as if we are in a dream. Still not as pretty as Erebor though.

In response to your last letter, Tauriel and I have decided that we must travel through Mirkwood and speak to Thrandriel. I know you will not deal with him,  but Tauriel says his son was like a brother to her and she hopes that we can get him to help us. Radagast may also help us, even if he is absent minded. Galadriel has shown support for our cause, and she sends with us her personal guard, an elf by the name of Trastadis, to smooth our dealings with Thrandriel. 

Trastadis is odd, stiff like most of the elves we have met, yet Tauriel says she is not the worst that she has ever encountered. Tauriel told Trastdis that we would grow on her.

Trastadis said that we would grow on her like mold.

Fili laughed.

He does that less now. Uncle Bilbo, you have dealt with Uncle’s crouching and dragon sickness, how did you help him? How do I help Fili? I want to help, but I need to know how before I accidentally make it worse. 

Thorin stop scowling, you know it's true.

Besides Trastadis, we will be bringing one other person with us to Erebor. His name is Kai’Ran and he is . . . weird. He is not any creature that either I or Tauriel have ever met or heard of. For Durin’s sake! He can’t even wield a dagger correctly! Even so, he is remarkably adept at battle. He can easily set fire to things and can heal. Perhaps Gandalf has heard of his kind? Thin, long-eared, eyebrowless.

I’m not jesting! He really doesn’t have any eyebrows!!

 

Love, Kili

 

. . . 

 

Dear Uncle Thorin,

 

How is Erebor? How is the company? How is Bilbo? I heard from Kili the good news, it took you long enough. He told me I won the betting pool, would you please tell the company that they better start getting ready to pay up? The minute I’m back I’m collecting.

I would talk to you about my capture, it hurts to speak about it, but after I do the pain grows less. I won’t right it down though, this feels like something that should be said face to face, not on paper by raven. Kili is helping, floundering, but still helping. He has been startlingly mature about this, although I guess maturity had to come sometime.

I am surprised you have blessed the union between Kili and Tauriel, it does not seem like something you would do. I sense Bilbo’s hand in this. You will have to tell me how he convinced you.

I will be home as soon as possible.

Your Nephew, Fili

 

. . .

 

Dear Mum,

 

It's your sons, we are coming home. We’re alive, you haven’t lost us like you lost dad. We are safe and on our way too you. How is running Erebor? No doubt Uncle Thorin thinks he’s in charge, but we know that between you and Bilbo he has no chance. We miss you and will see you soon.

 

With all our love, Fili and Kili

 

. . .

 

To my sons,

Well I say my reckless children, more than three years since I’ve seen you, and the first letter you send is barely a paragraph! I need more details then that to make sure you aren’t doing anything I’ll have to clean up! I’m glad you’re both safe, my little boys. I have missed you terribly and will be happy to have you with me soon.

Kili, what were you thinking! Falling in love with an elf of all things! Only my child would manage to do something like that. Oh, the whole company has regaled me with your tale my son. I hope she is as sensible as Bilbo, you need a level-headed One to deal with your recklessness! Can’t imagine where you got that from. I think I’ll blame Thorin for corrupting my kids. I will also reserve judgement on your lady love till I meet her. Do not tremble in fear my boy, Fili stop laughing. Keep your brother safe, and don’t do anything to idiotic.

Fili, I am so glad you are safe. We will talk about what happened to you when we see each other, you are right when you say it is not a topic that should be talked about by raven. I need you to stay safe Fili, I thought I lost you once already, I cannot do that again. You are stronger than you believe you are, and you will be whole again. It will just take time. Keep watch of your brother for me, and make sure he doesn’t do anything particularly idiotic.

I love you both so much, come home to me safely.

 

Love, Mum

 

. . .

 

Dear Fili and Kili,

The ravens of Galadriel are an impressive breed to carry three letters at once and in a few days! Bifur is desperate for a chance to breed our ravens and hers. He has recovered, but his mind is scrambled, he feel most at peace taking care of the birds of Erebor, watching from afar the events that would try to shake us apart. Erebor is coping, we are stockpiling food and weapons, my sisters has taken control of training Dwalin’s army. He does not begrudge her help. Letters fly thick and fast to and from Dale, something has happened in the city of men, but we have not been told what.

The company is thriving, they practically run Erebor, not me. Occasionally the dragon sickness yanks at my mind, yet they and Bilbo pull me away from it. Bilbo in particular has no time for my “silliness” as he calls it. The dwarves of Erebor have accepted him as my consort, and he has somehow managed to plant a garden on that ledge were the hidden door is. He will not tell me how he did it, only seems very pleased with himself that he managed to keep it a secret till he was ready to show it to me.

I have thought of abdicating the throne.

Not to you two, you are still to you. My sister relinquished her right when she married your father, I plan to reinstate her as crown Princess of Erebor and retire to somewhere calm and peaceful when this all blows over. I thought I would be happy to be in these halls, I forgot the sickness that lies upon it. Sis has always had a clearer head then me, she will make a wonderful queen.

Bilbo suggests that if we are to retire, that we should retire in the Shire.

I am inclined to agree. The shire is a calm peaceful land with no need for gold or the sickness that comes with it.

As of the matter of your mysterious friend, I have not had the chance to ask Gandalf. He left a few days before your letter came, saying he would be back as soon as possible. He has business of the utmost importance to attend to. He also said that we would have help sooner than we think. I do not know what help he refers to, the white wizard is a traitor and Radagast has not been seen in years. I fear that he is the only wizard watching over the denizens of Middle Earth now.

Stay safe and come home as quick as possible.

Love, Uncle Thorin

 

. . .

 

To Uncle Thorin, Uncle Bilbo, and Mum,

Galadriel’s raven found us at Beorn's house. He actually let us in, and was okay with us spending the night! He is indifferent to all of us, but he didn't somewhat threaten us when we last visited. We leave tomorrow for the Mirkwood.

We left Lothlorien a few days ago, we were brought up to the lady Galadriel and she gave us both her blessing and gifts. Tauriel received a pair of knives, longer than her own, wickedly curved and sharp silver. To Fili she gave an dwarven blade, decorated with elven runes and perfectly balanced. She gave me a quiver full of elven arrows, though there is something dwarvish about them. She told Trastadis something in the twinkling tongue of the elves, then kissed her forehead.  I have never seen anyone blush so quickly. To Kai’Ran she said something in that weird language of his. He looked disgruntled as she passed something into his hand. Neither I nor Fee was able to see what it was. Tauriel says she caught a gleam of silver, but that was all she could see.

Then we were shown the way out of Lothlorien, and were on the road to Mirkwood. The past few days have been slow, and Fee and I have been taking time to help him regain his strength. (He still beats me half the time in training, don’t believe him. He’s reading over my shoulder now, watching what I write.) We will be home soon, see you soon!

Love, Kee and Fee.

 

. . .

 

_ “Nia, it's been a while, but I haven’t had the chance to get into contact. You know the little butterfly I made about two years back? The one that carries messages across distances? Well you now hold a copy in your hand. I tried to make it earlier, but the magic didn’t want to come. It didn’t want to come! My magic works in two ways, through gold or fire, yet neither respond to my call anymore! _

__ _ Nia, I think I’m broken. _

__ _ My flames fight me. The gold doesn’t hum at my touch. My magic comes in fits and starts, sometimes there and too powerful, and sometimes there and weak. This place warps it, or perhaps the island warped it. I had a conversation with an elf by the name of Galadriel, she knew our language, though some of the terms sounded archaic. She says she knew Sei’Aan. It can’t be true, can it? _

__ _ You know more about our histories than me, has Sei’Aan’s tale ever mentioned a tall elf that sees to be made of magic. It all centers on her finger, on a ring of some extraordinary power.  She gave me a gift when we left Lothlorien, and small silver vial on a chain. She told me that it belonged to someone she knew long ago, someone like me. The craftsmanship on that vial is like ours, but older. Like scales and swirls and there are little faces hidden in it, the metal glitters like someone crushed gems and forged it into the vial in the early stages of craftsmanship. _

__ _ I did not leave Lothlorien alone, I have been traveling with some people for a while. My oldest traveling companions are Kili and Tauriel, a dwarf and elf that claim to be in  _ love _. What is this word  _ love _? It does not have an equivalent in our language. In Isengard we managed to rescue Fili, Kili’s brother. He was held by orcs for three years. He has a strong mind. _

__ _ He told me he saw a violet eyed shadow that broke blades with a touch right before we rescued him. _

__ _ Why didn’t you tell me you were in Isengard? Why didn’t you come find me? You were so close, we were so close to being together again. I was an idiot Nia! An idiot to stay! I should of left with you! They found out and lock me up in the tunnels under the mountain, bound my magic and left me to rot. _

__ _ Never mind, that’s not important now, I escaped and broke their binding. They could not hold me. _

__ _ There is one last person who has joined our impromptu band, a elf of the name Trastadis. She claims to see souls, I don’t believe her. She said she saw one in me, but we both knew that can’t be true. Dravhenkin don’t have soals. _

__ _ We are headed to Erebor, I hope to see you there. I miss you Nia.” _

 

_. . .  _

_ “Kai, it is good to hear your voice once again. If I had known you were at Isengard, I would of found you, but I didn’t not know until I stepped into the fires of the wizards tower. Do you know how much knowledge went up in flames? How many stories begging to be told that will never be heard again? I managed to save a few tomes, but had to leave many more in the fire. I tried to find you after that, but I could not, dragon sickness had me fast. I have that solved now. _

__ _ I think. _

__ _ As for those who locked you up in the dark tunnels below, give me their names. I will go back to the island and break their bones and make them feel the pain you felt. You did not deserve to be locked up for helping me. Tell me their names and I will make them pay. _

__ _ I have learned more about the history of our people in the books I have found. I have a theory on why your magic isn’t working properly. The theory isn’t fully fleshed out, and you will not like it. I will tell you it when I see you again in person so I can calm you down. As for the elf Galadriel, what you say she says is most likely true. The vial she gave you belonged to a powerful dravhenkin sorceress named Da’Sek. Da’Sek used this vial to store her power and save it for desperate situations. Every day she would put a little bit of her magic into the vial, and if she had spent all her magic in a day and was in dire need of more she could use the magic stored in the vial. _

__ _ Da’Sek was Sai’Aan’s mother. _

__ _ As for the word  _ love _ , it does have an equal in its language. It’s an old word, and hasn’t been used in a long time. The word is ‘itov’ and it means to care for a person or thing greatly, enough to risk life and limb. This word has been almost completely wiped from the history books, it took me a long time to find it. _

__ _ You should listen to the elf Trastadis, she has the right of it. Dravhenkin have souls, there is evidence in the word itov. Soulless things do not love, and since we have a word for love, we must not be soulless. _

__ _ I must also apologize for something. I fear that I may of caused you a spot of trouble. A certain storm perhaps? I know Treebeard said that a fierce one set fire to the hills of Rohan. I fear that might of been me, or more to the point, something I broke. _

__ _ I will see you in Erebor, my twin. In fact I might beat you there.  _

__ _. . . I love you.” _

 


	9. Flies and Spiders Take Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun stuff happens!

There was a coldness on his finger were the golden moth had landed, both biting and burning. The filigree wings fluttered lazily, creating a small breeze that tickled his hand. His twin’s voice whispered in his ears, soft and strong, a comforting presence. The oddness of her last words came to him, uncertain and filled with joy in her mouth. In his other hand he played with the vial around his neck, the silver cool to the touch.

He slipped the moth into his pouch and pulled on his magic. It flickered argrilly in his mind's eye, Warmth concentrated into his fingertips, slowly draining into the vial. The magic of the container leached at his, frosty and needing. He could feel his magic draining quicker, the heat receding from his body, the coldness of the vial pressing in, the -

Kai stumbled forward, gasping as his hand slipped of the silver vessel. He felt shaky, his head pounded. What the? Hands steadied him, big and worn. “Hey, you ok? We’re about to enter the woods.” Fili’s voice.

Kai wiped his clammy palms on his robes, he hadn’t expected the magic of the vial to be so strong, to pull so quickly. He hadn’t been prepared. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. “I’m fine!” He said with false cheer, “Are the ponies on their way to Breon?” He had liked the bear man, he’d reminded him of Nia, gruff but with a good heart.

Fili snorted. “Yes, no thanks to you. You could of helped us.” How was Kai supposed to know how to deal with a pony? The ones at Breon’s house had been the first ones he had ever seen. He had known that not knowing what a pony was would raise more questions than not knowing what a wizard was, so he’d just kept his mouth shut. Fili shook him out of his revery. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

Kai shrugged. “Do we really want to go that way? It looks awfully . . . dark.” Dark didn’t begin to describe it. It was almost like a nightmare version of Lothlorien. The trees were twisted and knotted, pale wood glimmered eerily through the slashes and breaks in the black bark. As if some great monster had come through and used them as scratching posts. The leaves of the trees were dark and sgragilly, brittle as if scorched by flames. Great swarths of lichen hung off of the branches, patchy and somewhat transparent. The sunlight seemed to die a few feet before the woods, leaving the trees encased in shadow. There was magic near the ground, old and dirty and dark, like some growing mold creeping its way out of the woods, eating the surrounding grasses.  It seemed to reach toward him, a hungry creature that sensed his warmth and life and wanted it for itself.

Fili grimaced. “Unfortunately. The quickest way to Thrandriel’s caves are that way.” He peered into the grimy light of the woods. “It looks worse then when I came through here last. Are those spider webs? Ug, I hate spiders.”

“I thought that was lichen!”

“Cobwebs.” Tauriel’s voice had gone hard and cold. “They must of claimed the edges of Mirkwood as well. Thrandriel only cares about his part of the forest, not the whole.” A breeze whipped her hair forward, then became stronger, pushing the group forwards. Kili walked over and clutched Tauriel’s hand, murmmering something to her that Kai couldn’t hear. What was the word Nia had said, ‘itov’? Caring for someone greatly, caring for them enough to risk life and limb. Kai shivered from the tips of his toes to the edges of his scales. Nia had to be joking, right? Just joking.

Nia had never joked about anything related to knowledge before.

Trastadis came back from watching the ponies and horses depart, she had her glaive in one hand, the great blade hissing in the air as she twirled it in her fingers. She gave them a grin, wide and fierce, “Let’s get this over with, shall we?” She had lightened up slightly over the days he had known her, grinned more often, was probably no longer regretting being sent on this task. Kai still wasn’t sure he liked her. 

She strode toward the hungry woods, scything blade screaming challenge. Tauriel and Kili followed behind her, hands on knives and sword. Fili gave him an indecipherable look, then followed them, pulling his two blades in a motion that wasn’t quite as rusty as it used to be. The woods swathed them in darkness, making them like shades to Kai’s eyes. He took a step back, then another, then took a deep breath. He looked nervously at the bright daylight, the clear skies, the promise of tomorrow, then started trotting towards the beckoning trees. Slow at first, then faster towards doom and gloom and the promise of final endings.

 

. . .

 

Fili was half afraid that Kai wasn’t going to come with them into Mirkwood, that he would go off on his own to find his sister. Then he head a hissed “Wait up!” and the sound of robes snagging on branches. He half turned to see Kai running towards them, ears dropped and shoulders hunched, jerking away from the dangling cobwebs. His eyes were wide and bright with fear.  The group stopped to wait for him as he slinked nearer. 

Trastadis’s voice was coldly amused. “I almost thought you weren’t coming.”

Kai growled at her half heartedly and glanced nervously at their surroundings. Tauriel, who had taken point, whispered quietly. “We must move quickly, but above all we must stay on the path. I don’t want us getting seperated. The woods will play tricks with us, try your best to ignore them.”

“They’re alive? Like Fangorn alive?” Fili asked.

Tauriel shook her head. “Not exactly, there is-”

“There is magic here, it covers the ground mold. It’s wrong.” Kai growled, he shifted closer to the group, radiating heat like a fire. “There are parts it doesn’t cover as thickly, a path of some kind, we’re on the thin part right now.”

Tauriel blinked in astonishment. “That’s correct. How did you know that?”

“I see it.” Kai still wasn’t looking at them.

Trastadis looked at him. “You see it,” she said, her voice incredulous.

“Hey guys?” Kili said, hopping from foot to foot. “You know I hate to be the responsible one, but we don’t have time to question our resident mystery. We need to get moving.”

“Kili’s right.” Tauriel moved back to the front of the group, the rest aligning behind her. Fili shoved Kai in front of him. Surprisingly, the resident mystery did not complain, his eyes were still on the trees. Fili sighed, he really hoped Kai would snap out of whatever held him soon. They moved farther into the woods, Tauriel’s guidance keeping them safely on the path. No one reached out to touch the cobwebs, thick and dull grey. There were voices in the woods, whispers of words that could not be deciphered. Fili’s vision jumped, the world tilting under his feet, for balance he reached out and grabbed Kai’s shoulder. 

It wasn’t Kai.

It was a skeleton in a dark blue furred coat, with matted black hair and empty sockets. The teeth chapped and smiled a horrid grin. He felt hands shake him, saw wide red eyes. Seeing that he had snapped out of it, Kia grabbed his sleeve and hauled him forward back to the group. Kili was clutching Tauriel’s hand, her face was pale and drawn. Trastadis leaned on her glaive, muddy brown hair covering her face. Tauriel looked at Fili and Kai, Fili noticed dimly that Kai hadn’t let go.

“The path,” her voice stuttered slightly. “Shouldn’t be affecting us like this. Mirkwood has never affected me like this.” She sounded afraid, like a child abandoned by it parents. “There are still stones of the path underneath our feet. This shouldn’t be happening!”

“The magic has taken this part over.” Kai’s voice was faint and worried. “If we continue on this path we should reach an area where the magic is weaker.”

“Can’t you cleanse it?” Kili was looking at Tauriel, his eyes wide and worried. For a split second he was as if struck by the orc’s arrow again, sweating and pale with shadows under his eyes. Fili blinked and Kili was back to normal.

Kai shook his head, frustration in his voice. “I burn things, not cleanse them.” There was a note of panic in his voice. “We need to get out of this area quickly.” Tauriel nodded and cast her eyes on the ground, then slowly moved out. Kai kept hold of Fili’s sleeve keeping him steady as the world around him shifted, jerking to a different shape. A cavern with unfinished walls and feet pounding out death of the floor. A voice broke him out of it, uncertain and quiet. “Uhhhh, so you guys have been wondering about me a little bit, so I guess I’ll tell you something.To keep you minds off the illusions.” He paused slightly, as if unsure where to start. “We call our island Okr’Thel, um, ironically in our language that word means home. We tend to name things literally. Like mine name is a variation of the word that means fire, and Nia’s is a variation of the word that means night. We live way off the coast, like way off, and we haven’t had contact with the mainland in a long time. Like a really long time. Until Nia decided to leave, and I decided to follow her. We don’t really worship the Valoar, since they didn’t make us, instead we worship Xur’Kar, the one who did make us. I’m telling you all way to much, I probably should shut up.” He waited a few seconds. “Oh well, k’grike it. Our island is mostly made up of cliffs, and many buildings are on the top, but most living quarters are in the cliffs themselves. Everyone there can do sometype of magic, except Nia, but then again she isn’t actually there, is she?”

 

. . .

 

Kai stopped himself, his words dead on his lips. There was no evidence that his prattling was working. Tauriel, Kili, and Transtadis were stiff and still seemed to jerk as if the floor was moving. He didn’t look at Fili, the last time he had he’d seen himself, scales dull, cheeks hollow, and eyes without hope. Xur’Kar curse it all! He was used to illusions, yet these affected him like he was still a hatchling! He shook his head slightly, keeping his eyes off the trees. He wet his lips and continued. “You know, I can’t actually remember if I’ve told you guys about her. Her coloration is darker and her sc - eyes are violet. She likes reading, and stories, and she’s a really good fighter. As good as I am bad. She gruff with people she doesn’t know, but she really has a soft heart. She can’t do magic, only has enough to survive, not to use . . . I shouldn’t of said tha- Gahh!!!” He jumped back into Fili, knocking them both down. The others turned, sluggishly. 

The tree that struggled half way onto the path was just a tree. A creepy tree, but a tree nonetheless. There was no sneering face, no grasping arms, no gleaming eyes. Just a tree.

“Sorry, false alarm.” He squeaked out. Fili shoved Kai off of him.

They continued, and Kai didn’t try regaling the rest of the group with tails of the past. He was stuck, there was darkness and cold crawling up his hand, up his arm, higher, higher. Bits of him started to burn away, like ash carried by wind.  _ This is your fate,  _ the ashes spelled out, then they were gone. As was his arm. He blinked and his arm was back. He stopped to study it, suddenly panicked. Where was his scales? Where were they? Fili bumped into Kai, muttering to Kai that he needed to get a move on. He couldn’t leave, he’d left his scales beh- oh, wait, he was wearing a glamor. He ran a thumb over the back of his hand and felt his scales. A glamor, that was all.

Just a glamor.

Heh.

He continued on, dodging webs and branches. The was a hand grasping the back of his robe, Fili’s hand. He must of sheathed one of his swords. Impractical, carrying a sword around in thick growth. Thick growth? The path was clear. He looked at the ground, the sickly magic was crawling up his legs. Nope, not looking there, he moved his gaze to the trees. Angry faces with hungry eyes were looking down upon him. He turned his gaze to Trastadis’s lithe form in front of him, except it was smaller and more muscled and had thick, black scales across it’s shoulders and back. Nia! He lunged forward and stopped, shaking his head rapidly. An illusion, that was all, just an illusion.

The ground roiled angrily under him, as if furious that he had seen through it’s tricks. He stumbled to the side and right into a tree, taking Fili with him. His hands met something dry and sticky. He pulled back in disgust, the grey thread snapping at the sudden movement. Cobwebs. He had touched them. That was bad. He turned to help Fili, but the dwarf had already pulled free, a few gray strands clinging to his golden hair. The color glimmered softly in the dull light. Kai shook himself and turned around. “Guys, I just touched the cobwebs . . . uhhh guys?”

Tauriel, Kili, and Trastadis were not there.

They were alone.

K’grike.

 

. . .

 

Trastadis stumbled on the path, using her glaive for balance. Kili and Tauriel were in front of her, they had stopped, gasping for breathe. She rushed up to join them, then turned to see if she could spot the last two of their group. Kili’s voice broke her concentration. “Where’s Fili? Where’s Kai?” His voice was panicked, his soul dimming in worry. Transtadis pinched her nose trying to concentrate.

“They were behind me.”

“Obviously not!”

“Stop it! Can’t you hear it?” Tauriel had frozen, her head tilted and her soul quivering as if wanting to run. Kili and Trastadis stopped to listen. There was a skittering sound on the air, faint but numerous. A word was whispered over and over again.  _ Attercrop. Attercrop. Attercrop. ATTERCROP.  _ Tauriel moved, knocking the others down as something large descended from the canopy.

It was a spider.

A giant one.

Trastadis screamed.

 

. . .

Fili grabbed Kai’s shoulder. “Where did they go?”

“I don’t know! They were in front of me a few minutes ago!” Kai waved his hands about.

“Are you sure that wasn’t an illusion?”

“ . . . no . . .”

“Where’s the path?”

“I can’t tell! The magic is all thick here. Oh Xur’Kar it's crawling up my legs!” Kai’s voice was hysterical.

“Calm down, I’m sure we can find them.” Fili forced his voice to be calm and collected.

A shrill scream split the air.

 

. . . 

 

Tauriel and Kili moved simultaneously, knives and sword flashing against the carparce of the spider, searching for weak spots. Trastadis stood up, swallowing her scream, and twisted around to intercept another of the beast. Black lines dully glowed, the sign of a soul corrupted against its nature. She used her glaive to block its attacks, then sunk the blade into its head. Kili finished the original, while Tauriel dealt with a third. For a second there was silence as Kili tried to pull his blade out of his. He gave up and pulled out his bow and strung an arrow. The three pressed together, back to back.

Around them there was quiet, then everything exploded into chaos.

 

. . .

 

They froze as the sound cut through the air, looked at each other, then at their surroundings. 

“What was that.” Kai hissed.

Fili made sure both blades were in his hands. “That would be a scream.”

“You think you’re so funny.”

Fili ignored him and got ready, swords in hand. Kai shifted close to him, a little light dancing on his fingertips. He radiated heat like a forge, a barrier against dark coldness of the woods. “How big are these spiders exactly?”

Something thudded down behind them. They spun around to stare at the beast in front of them. Fili pointed his blade at it. “About that big.”

There were answering thuds around them. 

They were surrounded.

 

. . .

 

Kili’s bow sung in her ear, Tauriel’s blades sung in her other. Her own glaive spun a pattern of defence and attack against the spiders. She hated spiders! She positively loathed them! Their voices creaked in her ears, and when she struck one down another replaced it. They were hungry and they outnumbered them.

She wasn’t sure how long they would last.

She was already tired.

 

. . .

 

Kai’s hands were on fire. So were the trees. And the spiders. And Fili’s clothes were a bit singed. Yet they weren’t dead! Not yet. They had carved a path, trying to aim towards the scream, but forced to vear away. The trees clawed there process, slowing down their flight. Fili used his blades to hack away webs and spiders. Kai burned the rest. They didn’t kid themselves, they knew they were being herded.

And Kai was starting to get cold.

 

. . .

 

They were in too close of a mele for Kili to use his bow. He used his knife instead, searching for the spiders’ giant eyes. Tauriel at his side, her knives dancing. Trastadis at the other, her glaive useless in the close combat. A bright light, burning the eyes, words in a arcane language. A sleigh rushed in, pulled by rabbits. 

Perhaps it wasn’t hopeless after all.

 

. . .

 

The ground beneath them broke. Rocks tumbled on their heads. Kai’s hand went up and he pulled, fire springing from his hand and shaping into a net to protect them. It was a work of art, something he would of created while still back on the island without a second thought. But he was not on the island, and he had already used so much. The cold snaked under his scales and slithered into his skin. It sunk into his bones and stole his breath.

And his world

went

dar

k.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hows your day? Hands up for people who want to know what Nia's doings? *Runs for my life*


	10. The Fongorn Forest Take Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Batman voice* I never joke.
> 
> heh . . . heh . . . please don't kill me.
> 
> Also, starts in chapter three.

She didn’t know why she had saved the dwarf, she should of been focused on ending the clawing pain of dravhen sickness. Although, perhaps this pain was why she saved him, an act of defiance against what ruled her mind. Perhaps it was a glimmer of a thought that pushed past her pain, and echo of something she had read long ago.  _ No being should die on its knees.  _ It didn’t matter, not any more. She had given him a chance to fight back, and if he died, he would not die like a prisoner, but a warrier. She hadn’t stayed, swirled farther into battle to leave him to his own devices.

The fight pushed away the cobwebs in her brain, allowing her to think clearly for the first time in months. She kicked an orc in the chest and his ribs caved in, swung around to punch another in the face. At the back of her mind there was an insistent pull, but something over shadowed it, a lantern like in the dark. A tower black against the sky.

She knew what it was, the lure of forbidden knowledge, books for her hoard. Any dravhen who hoarded knew the pull. She grinned widely, white teeth flashing against dark skin and darker scales. She threw herself at the orcs blocking her path, her punches and kicks hitting with enough force to break bones. Occasionally, she used her claws to split skin and let blood flow.

The ground shook, a sound bursted in her ears and she laid them back against her head in response, the air tasted of smoke and ash. The tower was lit with flames, clinging to the stone in a way that defied all logic. To her side the horizon rolled. Another explosion shook the tower, and she shook herself out of her surprise.

Kai, her twin, was here. And he was burning knowledge. The dravhen in her flared up in outrage and she found herself pelting forwards to the tower. The chaos of the battlefield was nothing to her, and she found herself at the base of the tower within heartbeats. She looked up, gritted her teeth, and started to climb.

Clawed hands found grip in stone and she pulled herself up. She wasn’t sure how far she could climb, but by Xur’Kar she would try. She made it, barely, most of her claws were broken and bloodied, her arm muscles burned. She rolled through the window and landed hard on her back, she lay there gasping, till her need for the books pushed her up. There was a figure in white with a beard and black staff fighting the fire. A wizard of some kind, she had read about them, had collected a few stories over the years. He hadn’t noticed her entrance, too preoccupied with the flames burning his home. So she ignored him, taking off one of her earrings, then shoving it and as many books she could pull off the shelves into her bag. 

Eventually he noticed her, and yelled something, probably a command if the magic in the words were anything to go buy. She continued to ignore him and flipped open one of the books, the words swam in front of her eyes, completely illegible. No problem, there would be time to read later. She shoved it into her bag and continued on. A wizened hand grabbed on to her arm and yanked her to face the owner. 

Done with setting wards against the fire, the wizard had come to deal with the problem of the thief. He said something else. She raised an eyeridge, amusement plain on her face. His black eyes glittered and he thrust the black staff at her, tip glowing with power. She knocked it aside, punched him in the nose, then yanked the staff from him and threw it out the window. He stood there, eyes comically wide. She laughed, grabbed a few more books, then followed the staff out.

The way down was considerably faster than the way up, and hurt way more. What was left of her claws broke as she slid down the side of the tower, hands gripping stone to slow her progress. The skin on her palms was shredded, but she ignored it in favor of the renewed agony of the dragon sickness. She scoured the battlefield, which was mostly now just trees ambling around broken bodies, and the judged her distance.

She jumped. 

And found that ents do not make for good landing spots.

She landed and got tangled in the branches of one, felt a great hand wrap around her. She was thrown to the ground and pain exploded in her lungs. A foot hung above her, ready to descend.

“ _ Wait!”  _ She yelled raising her hand. “ _ I’m not an enemy!”  _ Words brushed past her ear and she scrabbled in her pack and jammed her earring back on. She was just fast enough to catch the tail end of the sentence.

“-branches?”

There was a creaking, a groaning, a crashing sound as the tower of Isengard came tumbling back to earth. She was impressed, Kai had done a good job. She got up, holding her ribs in one hand and pointing with the other. “I was trying not to get caught in that. Sorry about the branches. Do you think the wizard survived?”

The ent ho-hummed. “It depends if the wizard had his staff.”

“Oh,” she pointed again, “You mean that one?”

The ent bent down and picked it up in one giant hand. “Yes, this one.” He crushed it in his palm. She gave a low whistle, impressed. The ent bent down again, his dark eyes peered at her. “Are you an orc?”

She smiled, and took her other earring out. Her glamour disappeared, and her teeth were now nice and sharp. “I’m no orc. I’m Nai’Ara, a dravhenkin, and I wish to speak to the oldest among you.”

 

. . .

 

The ent, whose name was Edbark, told her that the oldest among them was Treebeard, but he was too busy with the other visitors. Edbark was too young to remember if a dravhen had ever nested in the Fangorn, and any others she talked to didn’t understand her hurry. So she made camp near the tower, watched the fires play among the trees, and tried to ignore the aching pains that assaulted her body. She had broken a rib, ruined her hands, and was nauseous from the dragon sickness. She could not read to distract herself, her hands were too bloodied to handle the books. Instead she occupied herself by trading stories with the ents, learning their histories and giving her own.

The wizard did not appear and no one shifted the rubble to find him.

The second day she left to see if she could hurry up the process. The fires had died down and the pain in her side had subsided slightly. She threw up when she stood, an acidic bile that tasted like blood. She followed Treebeard’s path to see if she could catch him coming back. Her vision swam, her head pounded, and her bones ached. The pull was unidentifiable now, all around her, impossible to give an exact location.

She didn’t have much time left.

The third day she blacked out.

Treebeard found her on the fifth, and headed her pained plee to take her to the dravhen’s nest.

On the afternoon of the sixth day they arrived to an entrance hidden by boulder and moss. There was a dirt cave, sides worn smooth even after all the years of disuse.Treebeard placed her in the entrance, and she smelled the odor of old magic. She crawled in, ignoring the searing pain as wards passed over her scales, and continued down. She came too a large cave, immaculate, no signs of the dust or dirt that should of layered the place. The walls were lined with scrolls and books, the paper barely aged. There was a burning nimbus in the center of the floor, a sharp pain in the back of her eyes. With a cry she got up and stumbled forward-

_ She clawed the floor into a pit, smoothed the sides and lined them in stone. She channeled a bit of magic into the stone, just enough to turn them red-hot. They would stay that way forever, for this egg and the eggs to come. She picked her child up in her claws, the smooth shell pearly white, and set it into the stone pit. The rocks radiated heat into the shell, incubating her child since she would no be here to do so. She started weaving her magic again, spells upon spells upon spells. The dravhenkin had given her this idea, the words for the spell as well. Preservation, just in case she could not come back. She would tell her mate were their child was hidden, so he could come if she could not. She breathed out, looked down at the shining nimbus, then looked at her nest. The walls lined with books, most she had written herself, the smooth worn floor, dirt compacted after centuries of use. She left the egg behind, layering protection spells on the entrance to the nest. She shook herself spread her wings, and took off to see if she could stop the madness consuming her kin. _

_ “ _ **_WHO ARE YOU?”_ **

_ She could see them in front of her, punches descending on the tiny dravhenkin they had encircled. She didn’t think, just moved, even as young as she was she could fight, her scales absorbed impacts that other dravhenkin could not take. The tiny dravhenkin uncurled and stared at her as she drove his tormentors off. Red eyes in a face like her own. _

**_“AHH, A PROTECTOR. YOU WILL DO. BUT YOU ARE INCOMPLETE, WHERE IS THE REST OF YOU?”_ **

_ In the library, inkquill, inkwell, and paper in her bag. She was in the very back, among the oldest of parchments, among the oldest of knowledge. She pulled out a scroll, it spoke about how over time dravhenkin lost traits that they had been created with. Traits like wings and thick scales. Eagerly, she started to copy the scroll onto her own paper, word by word, paragraph by paragraph. For a second she stopped to stroke her paper, grinned at the feeling in her bones. Hers, the feeling sang, hers. _

**_“HMMMM, YOU WILL BE USELESS IF YOU ARE NOT COMPLETE. VERY WELL, TIME TO GET TO WORK.”_ **

Everything jerked out of proportion, visions fled from her sight and the world around her tilted and rolled.The gleaming nexus spun into threads, then struck at her, sunk into her bones and made her blood sing. She screamed as pain erupted in her back, catching the briefest sight of an opalescent shell before her vision went dark.


	11. When Dravhenkin Fly

She woke later and breathed a breath that wasn’t full of pain. It was dark around her, not complete blackness, it was more like a dark grey gauze had been wrapped around her eyes. There was a numb sensation, like she was laying on her arm. She moved her hand onto the floor and started to lever herself up. There was a flash of pain, and she fell back down, crying out at another burst of pain. What was going on? She scrambled up, ignoring the bursts of pain, and fell onto her back, unbalanced. More pain. She got up again, leaning forward, her sight clear. 

There was an egg in front of her, the shell was opalescent, a warmer hue near the bottom caused by light coming out of the rocks surrounding it. There were things at the edges of her vision. She felt one, it was like a long finger bone, coated in glistening black scales. She yanked it forward, felt a twinge of pain near her back, the thing spread out, it connected to something dark and grey and partly see through that felt somewhat like skin. She stumbled back in shock, nearly falling again. She needed a mirror, something reflective. She went to run out of the cave, made sure to lean forward so she didn’t fall. Pain squeezed her stomach as she reached the entrance, she ran back to the cave, picked up the egg, and rushed out.

The forest was difficult to navigate, she kept stumbling and getting tangled up in branches that should of been too high up to touch. Her mind was running in circles, little possibilities flaring up in her mind then dwindling at the impossibility of it.  _ It couldn’t be . . . it was impossible . . . could it? _ Instead she focused on the egg in her arms. It was warm, though she couldn’t tell if the warmth was remained from the stones or came from the egg itself. It seemed to pulse slightly in her arms, like a heartbeat. She wanted to laugh, the egg shouldn’t of been possible, all the dravhen were dead! Yet . . .

Here it was, in here arms, as real as the books in her hoard and the scales on her back.

A sliver of silver caught her eyes, bright between the aged wood of the trees around her. She jerked forward, pushed herself through a gap, felt a wrenching pain in her back, and then . . . there it was. A calm, silver-blue river winding its way through rocks and roots. She gently set the egg down in the leaf litter and made her way to the water. It was a mirror, with barely a ripple distorting it. She saw her face, the dark brown skin, glistening black scales and burning violet eyes, and saw it. The shadows stretching from her back.

She had wings.

By Xur’Kar she had wings!

 

. . .

 

She had to learn how to walk without falling or carrying a counterbalance again. She had to cut off her shirt and had to figure out how to fix it so that her wings could move. She found that if she thought about them they were a nuisance, but if she ignored them they stopped getting in the way. It was like you didn’t think about running, you just did it. She had to relearn how to fight. How to do the patterns of strikes and kicks without over balancing. When she was not relearning basic skills, she was reading. The dravhen’s hoard became hers and the books she had stolen from the wizard became hers. She learned about the Valar and their places in creation, stories she did not know because the books on the island told little of the beliefs of the mainland. She learned the tale of Oss’Ola, who died and came back to the world of the living. She learned about the creation of the dravhenkin through an outsiders eyes.

She did not learn anything about taking care of eggs.

Nor anything about taking care of hatchlings.

She hadn’t been old enough to be put on rotation for taking care of the eggs on the island, you had to be at least three hundred to do that. She had been kept away from the hatchling for the insane fear that her dragon sickness would spread. So she wasn’t sure if carrying around an egg with her wherever she went was a good idea. Even so, she fashioned a harness out of her cloak and took the egg with her when she left the nest.

Edbark found it ridiculous.

The ent had become a close friend. He found her relative youth, energy, and stories fascinating. She found his relative age, calmness, and stories interesting. So it was only natural that after her challenge to Kai’Ran, that Edbark would help her learn to fly. She had to beat Kai to Erebor somehome, and she did have wings so flying as logical. So Edbark would hold the egg while she used him as something she could jump off on into the thermals.

She quickly leaned the taste of Fangorn dirt.

Edbark also found her numerous face plants hilarious.

It took her days to learn how to fly, although surprisingly it took her less time then it did for her to relearn how to walk. It was an amazing thing, to be able to fly. To feel the wind under her wings on sliding across her scales. It was glorious. 

Nia left for Erebor a few days later, supplies in her bag and egg in its harness.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact! If you are a flying creature, your wingspan needs to be at least twice your height. So if you are a four-and-a-half-foot dravhenkin, your wingspan would be nine feet.  
> Next up is what you've all been waiting for! *starts singing buried alive to the tune of Staying Alive*


	12. 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ~ Buried Alive ~ 𝅘𝅥𝅮

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I believe this may be my longest chapter yet, so yay!

Fili’s tongue was coated in a layer of rock dust. His lips were dry and parched, he was sweating, and he was breathing way too quickly. There was the sense of a great weight all around him and smoke obscured his eyes. He was underground with a fire and he was not alone.

Fili levered himself up, trying to smother the coughs that threatened to explode. Kai was twisted under him, face ashen pale and breaths coming is frozen puffs.  _ Frozen, in this heat? _ The thought pushed its way through the pounding of his head and heart. He pushed himself backwards, glad for the little bit of space that gave him room to maneuver. There were rocks above his head, but their descent had been stopped by a dome of woven fire. Fili froze, every inch of him was screaming for him to move, to get out, but he couldn’t move, if he did the flames might evaporate and the rocks come down. His breath came in short panicked gulps.

The air tasted like smoke.

Fili jerked forward and grabbed Kai by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. Instead of his normal arua of heat he radiated cold. “Kai, wake up.” Fili stopped to cough. “Kai, I need you to wake up right now!”

Kai was unresponsive. 

Fili pulled Kai up slightly and grabbed his chin. The skin was freezing, and the texture was odd, but Fili didn’t focus on that now, instead he searched Kai’s face. There, a slight flicker of an eyelid. Fili shook him again. “Kai, wake up, wake up please.” 

Kai’s eyes opened slowly, the normal bright red glazed over. “S’vabol ui coi?” He murmured, his head lolling slightly.

Fili sighed in relief. “I need you to douse the flames.”

“Kii? Ixen ui hesi thurirl.”

Fili had no clue what Kai was saying, but he took a while gamble. “If you don’t extinguish the flames we will die from breathing in the smoke.” The smoke didn’t seem to be stirring too much, so if it was draining out it wasn’t doing it quickly enough. And the fire made it worse. They would suffocate,or die from heat stroke, or die dehydration,or die from -

“Kruth.” Kai’s sleepy voice broke Fili from his spiraling thoughts. Kai levered himself up and Fili dropped his hand from Kai’s shoulders. Kai looked up, the flames reflecting in his dull eyes. “Si rigluin wux ekess gethrisj veyet'toon veyet'toon jaka.” The flames flickered slightly, and Kai pouted. “ Si verk veyet'toon. Gethrisj veyet'toon.” The flames went out, and Kai turned to Fili, smiling cheerfully, then freezing, his ears lain against his head and his eyes wide. “Onudah.”

Fili sighed and leaned his head against a rock, heat emanating from the smooth surface.  The smoke was swirling around them, leaving through some exit. At least they had some airflow. He breathed slowly to try to calm himself. “Westron, please.”

Kai, managed to maneuver himself so he could wrap his arms around his knees. He stuck his chin on his knees and stared at Fili with wide eyes. “You’re afraid. I thought dwarves loved being underground?” His voice was tiny.

“It is every dwarfs nightmare to be caught in a cave in.”

“Oh.” Kai yanked on one of his braids, then put his face into his knees. “I’m afraid of the dark,” he whispered, “I’m afraid of being trapped in the dark and being unable to summon my flames.”

They fell into a uncomfortable silence, watching the smoke filter out. Fili wondered if Kai could see in the dark like a dwarf could. Probably not, since he could summon fire with a snap of his fingers. Fili looked up to watch Kai, he was shaking slightly. “Are you ok?”

“Cold. I don’t think I can do any more magic for a while.” Fili swallowed slightly, the stones at his back still gave off heat. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Kai jerked up, his eyes suddenly bright. “I can get help!” He hissed, “Svaklar re wux moxt vynnetia?” He scrounged around in his belt pouch and pulled out something that glittered in the dark.

Fili’s breath caught in his through, the heavy weight of the rocks above lifting slightly. It was a butterfly made of gold thread, the wings almost transparent. It fluttered lazily on his palm, humming lightly. Kai muttered to himself some more in his strange language, then pulled off one of his earrings and gave it to the butterfly. “Clax nomeno ekess Tauriel vur Kili, hak xarak astahi tenpiswo.” The butterfly grabbed onto the earring, wrapping little threads of gold around it, then fluttered out of Kai’s palm. Fili watched it fly around their confined space, then wiggle between a few rocks. 

Kai made a little pained noise in the back of his throat and slumped against the rocks. Fili jerked to look at him, opened his mouth to ask if he was okay, only for his words to die on his lips.

It was as if puzzle pieces he hadn’t known existed clicked together.

The odd texture of Kai’s skin, the unnaturally stiff hair, the red eyes, the secrecy, the odd language, the fire.

It all made sense.

Kai looked at Fili’s baffled a face and grinned cheerily at him. “Just a trick I’ve had stashed away for a while.” He faltered. “Fili?”

Kai’s cherry grin didn’t look so cheery with sharp, white teeth. His eyes no longer friendly with the absent whites, a diamond shaped pupil, and a bright glow. His skin no longer looked so ashen with the translucent red scales. The lack of eyebrows no longer looked as odd with the  eyeridges. His hair no longer unnaturally stiff when made out of scales. He no longer looked like the person FIli knew with the draconic features.

Although perhaps he looked more like Kai then he had ever looked.

In the back of his mind he saw a lake on fire, a sky filled with smoke, and people burned to ash.

Kai frowned slightly, leaned forward, and reached out a hand. “Fili, what's wrong?”

Fili jerked back against the rocks, eyes focused on the scaled hand with the short claws. “Don’t touch me!” He growled.

Kai froze, looked at his hand with the scales revealed. He made a soft, pained noise, then drew himself into a ball. “So it looks like I’m back to being hated again.” His voice was muffled, his ears drooped.

Fili worked his jaw muscles. “What are you?”

“An abomination, what else? Though not because of my features. No, I’m an abomination for a reason you would not understand.”

“What are you?”

“Dravhenkin.”

  
“As if that explains anything!!??” Fili tried to calm his heart, tried to lower the panic in his voice. He didn’t want to dislodge a stone that might collapse the whole ceiling. He didn’t want the airflow to be blocked.

“I’m part dravhen and part magic, more magic than dravhen. My kind were created long ago and we’ve been hiding for most of that time.”

Filli was regaining control of himself. “And what,” he said is a strained voice, “is a dravhen?”

“A creature created by the Valar to be an opposite of dragons. They were rare and powerful and died a long time ago. There are none left.”

“So you’re not a dragon.”

“No.”

“Ok, ok, I can deal with this.” He waited a few more seconds to calm down before exploding again. “And when were you going to tell us?”

Kai’s ears flicked. “Hopefully never.”

Fili licked his dry lips nervously. “You might of given yourself eyebrows.” It was the only thing he could think of to say. Instead he latched onto something else. “What did you mean by abomination?”

Kai’s ears flicked again, his voice was soft. “I’m an abomination because I survived.”

“Survived what?”

Kai looked up, his eyes glowing dimly in the dark. Fili could see that his eyes weren't completely red, there where streaks of gold and orange in them. “Dravhenkin don’t survive when two share an egg, yet that is what Nia and I did. Therefore we are abominations.”

“I hardly think that surviving should make you an abomination.”

“You seem awfully calm for someone who just found out their traveling companion is a monster.”

“It takes too much air to panic.” The lie felt odd in his mouth. He was panicking. He was stuck underground, in a cramped space, with someone who was related to dragon-like entities. Someone he hoped wouldn’t kill him. “Besides, I wouldn’t call you a monster, just startling.” He held out a hand. “Still friends?”

He managed not to wince when Kai’s scaled fingers closed over his. He had to remind himself that this was Kai, the guy who had saved his life. Kai was grinning slightly, teeth way to sharp to sharp to belong to any normal creature. “Yeah, still friends.”

 

. . .

 

Fili’s hand was a brand in his. Was this how he felt to other beings? A raging inferno of heat? He didn’t feel like that now. He felt cold and scatterbrained. It hurt to breathe. His thoughts were spiraling, trying to focus on something, something important, but something kept on breaking his train of thought. A image of himself, lost and alone, abandoned and bound, trapped beneath the caves of his home. “Ummmm, Kai?” Kai looked blankly at Fili and the dwarf raised a golden eyebrow. “Are you going to let go of my hand?”

“Oh, yeah, right.” He let go, tried not to feel saddened as the warmth was drawn away, tried to ignore the fearful whites of Fili’s eyes. He was good at hiding his fear, but Kai was better at spotting hidden emotions. He had always been.

It was almost funny that when it really counted he had missed the obvious.

Kai curled as close to the rocks as he could get, soaking their fading warmth into his scales. Fili watched him like a cornered animal. The others would stare at him like that to, if they found them. They would lift the rocks off their heads and see the truth to their fire starter. He couldn’t bring himself to care.

Besides, what if the butterfly never made it out? What if it got stuck in a crack to small for it? Then he and Fili would die, down here in the dark, as far away from the sun and warmth as possible. Kai’s breath hitched slightly as the thought struck him, so very truthful. Even if the group found them, who said they would be able to bring them out in time? Who said they wouldn’t shift a rock and cause the whole thing to come down on their heads? 

He yanked on his braid, tried to distract himself. Fili was mumbling to himself in dwarvish, or whatever his language was called, the words to low and fast for Kai to catch. Why had he grabbed the earing that held up his glamor? What had he been thinking? But that was the thing, he hadn’t been thinking. His thoughts had been numbed, they still were.

What was it that was so important that he needed to remember?

“You know the orcs used to threaten me with this.” Kai’s ears twitched, he looked at Fili. he wasn’t looking at Kai, but something in the past. “And here I am, freed, but their words still came true. We’re stuck underground and we might die. Do you think the spiders knew the cave would collapse? Or was it just luck?”

It took a few seconds for his words to make sense, and when they did, Kai couldn’t help but laugh. “Probably not, they can’t eat us if we’re crushed.”

“True.” Fili’s voice was soft, half-way broken and half-way amused. It hurt to hear him like that. 

Kai reached out, pocked Fili with the tip of his boot. “Chin up Usk’kor’ari, we aren’t dead yet.” He wondered if his tone matched the words or the fear in his chest.

“Usk’kor’ari?” 

Kai winced as Fili mangled the word. “Usk’kor’ari. Try again.”

Fili’s mouth twitched slightly. “Ushk’kkor’ari.”

Kai gave a full body shudder. “That was even worse.”

Fili was grinning now, blunt teeth bright against his dirtied skin. “Uashke’kore’aari”

Kai grinned. “Now you’re just doing it on purpose.”

Fili shifted slightly. “What does it mean?”

Kai looked at the rocks above them, the black lines against grey stone. “It means Ironheart. Dravhenkin have titles that are sepperate from their names. Were names describe features, titles describe personality. Mine is Vers’ric’an. It means Powermind. Nia’s is Zephn’kor’ari. It means Steadyheart.” 

“Why Usk’kor’ari?”

“Better.” Kai lapsed in thought, tracing the rocks with his eyes. Finally he looked at Fili, mouth quirked slightly. “You survived the orcs. You haven’t let them beat you. You are set on fixing what they broke in you.” Kai, sighed, moved his eyes from the dwarfs blue ones. “You’re doing better than I am.”

Fili frowned suddenly. “What is that supposed to mean?”

K’grike. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Umm, nothing. I was just thinking out loud.”

“Kai, are you okay?” Fili stared hard at Kai, his blue eyes pale and sharp in the darkness.

“Are you?” He shot back before he could think. He stuffed his fist in his mouth and bit down. “Sorry. I’m just a little on edge.”

Fili shrugged. “Its fine. I’m on edge too. You said something earlier about being afraid of the dark without your flame. That seemed oddly specific.”

K’grike, he had said that? “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“No offence, but what else are we going to do?” He spread his arms out slightly, gesturing at their rocky tomb. “We’re not exactly going anywhere soon.”

His words startled a laugh out of Kai. The dravhenkin grinned slightly, even as the word echoed around them. “I’d didn’t know you joked.”

Fili settled back and grinned wide, the braids at the sides of his mouth swaying slightly. “Oh, me? I taught Kili everything he knows.” His face fell. “I haven’t been joking as much after the orcs. But Kee and I have been talking, and the talking helps.” 

Kai didn’t say anything, just looked at his hands. The skin was ashy, the scales were dull, frayed rope swung from the wrists, flesh and scales swollen and red. He shook his head and his scales rattled reassuringly. “I do have someone to talk to . . .” His voice trailed off, his twin was far away, hopefully safe, and heading towards Erebor. “I talk to Nia, about stuff like this, she always knows what to say.”

“I’m not Nia, but I can listen, and I can understand. I’m here if you need me.” Fili’s voice was soft, not sad, but sure.

Kai sighed heavily and looked away from his hands. He shouldn’t, but his mouth was already running. “On the island, there’s few rules, but of the ones there are, staying is the most important. No one is allowed to leave. But Nia has, had, dragon sickness and the only cure for that is to find what was pulling her. If she couldn’t, she would die. But she survived, ignoring the pull, it wasn’t healthy, but it was manageable. Till three years ago, when it got worse, and she had to leave, and I helped her. 

I should of gone with her, but I thought, I don’t know what I thought. That without her I could be, I don’t know, normal? That I wouldn’t of been hated? I was idiotic and selfish and I should of gone with her but I didn’t. I don’t know how they found out, but I guess that I was the only one who would of helped her.

So with her gone, I took both of our punishments. Dravhenkin, we’re magical constructs, our magic is what keeps us alive, when I cast a spell, I use a little bit of my life force. Well, the worst punishment on the island is binding. There are different levels, one where just the manifestation of magic is bound, the other is when all of the dravhenkins magic is bound. I suffered the worst, and over time that one kills you.

That wasn’t the only punishment though. The other major one is to be forgotten. There are caves beneath the island, and whenever someone faces that punishment, they are locked down their, till they die. So I was thrown down there with my magic bound and was left to be forgotten. Eventually I managed to break the binding, I’m not exactly sure how, and blasted my way out. I stole a boat and supplies and left the island for good.” He was crying, he wasn’t exactly sure how that had started, but there he was, sobbing and shaking and hating the words as they spilled out of his mouth.

Fili reach over to pull him into a hug. “I’m sorry.” What else was there to say?

 

. . .

 

After a while Fili knew that he needed to say something. Kai had stopped crying and was no longer freezing. He knew what he was going to say, yet the words felt heavy on his tongue. A story for a story. A tragedy for a tragedy. “You never really asked how I was captured by the orcs.”

Kai jerked a shrug, “I figured Kili didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Well,” Fili took a deep breath to calm himself, “It was in the Battle of the Five Armies. We had just claimed Erebor, the dragon had fallen, Dale burned to the ground. Everyone was affected by dragon sickness, well I guess you could call it gold fever. My uncle, Thorin, the humans’ leader, Bard, and the Elven King Thranduil. The humans and elves amassed at our battered gates, and Dain, Lord of the Iron Hills, came sweeping in to save us. Then the orcs and goblins attacked. Kili, Thorin, Dwalin and I went up to see if we could sever the head of the army, Azog the Pale Orc. Well Kee and I got separated in the tunnels of the mountains. I had pushed him down a less dangerous path, trying to protect him. It was a trap, I don’t know why they didn’t kill me. Maybe to keep me as a bargaining chip for later, but they kept me alive and took me to Isengard. It wasn’t, pleasant, they tortured me, they occasionally left me in a pit for days, normal horrible stuff. They cut of my beard for Durin’s sake!”

Kai chuckled slightly. “You sound more annoyed about the beard part then the actual torture.”

“Beards are a very important part to dwarven culture.”

Kai was silent for a little but, then he pulled back and regarded Fili with his glowing eyes. “I’m glad you survived.”

Fili smiled back at him. “I’m glad you survived as well.” The darkness and weight above their heads no longer seemed as oppressive to Fili, now that he had shared what had happened. In the revelation of Kai’s story, the dravhenkin no longer looked so dangerous. He just looked like Kai. The silence between them was no longer uncomfortable. Eventually though, Fili broke it. “You know, your culture isn’t the only one with second names. Us dwarves have secret names.”

Kai’s eyes went wide. “Really? What’s yours?”

Fili jerked back in shock, he felt the heat rush to his cheeks. “What?! I can’t tell you that!”

Kai’s ears dropped slightly. “Why not?”

“That is something we only tell our family or our One.” Fili tried to curb his blushing, really what had he expected, Kai hadn’t know what a wizard was for Durin’s sake!

Kai leaned back against the rocks, his eyes still focused on Fili. “One?”

Fili let out a breathe. “Dwarves only love once.”

“Oh, like Tauriel and Kili?” Kai’s voice was introspective.

“Yes.” Fili smiled, imagining Thorin’s reaction when his uncle had found out about the two.

“Oh.” There was a vaguely forlorn tone in his voice.

Fili wondered what that was about. “You act as you’ve never heard the concept before.”

“Eh.” Kai made a so-and-so motion with his hand. “Dravhenkin culture is kind of iffy. People don’t really mate that often and rarely for life. Children are raised communally, and there are no separate families. Everyone’s pretty much their own person and don’t really look out for one another. So love is a foreign concept.”

“You’ve never seen anyone like Kee and Tauriel before?” It sounded horrible, to live a life like that.

Kai gave a shrug. “Not in my lifetime, not till I reached the mainland that is.”

Fili shuddered. “Weird.”

Kai just grinned. “Seen weirder.”

“Like what?”

“Walking trees. Or forests in general.”

Fili laughed. “You’ve got a point there.” He waited for a few seconds.  “Do you know if the butterfly has reached the others yet?”

Kai shook his head, scaled rattling slightly. “No, all we can do is wait.”

So in the darkness they waited. As the last of the heat leached out of the stones they waited. As the last dribbles of smoke filtered out they waited. As hunger and dehydration crept in they waited. And waited. 

And waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S’vabol ui coi? = What is it?  
> Kii? Ixen ui hesi thurirl. = Why? Fire is our friend.  
> Kruth = Okay  
> Si rigluin wux ekess gethrisj veyet'toon veyet'toon jaka = I need you to go bye by now.  
> Si verk veyet'toon. Gethrisj veyet'toon = I said goodbye. Go goodbye.  
> Onudah = underground  
> Svaklar re wux moxt vynnetia? = Where are you little butterfly?  
> Clax nomeno ekess Tauriel vur Kili, hak xarak astahi tenpiswo.= Take this to Tauriel and Kili, then lead them here


	13. Pieces Coming Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's not dead? Spoilers! It's me.  
> Sorry for the long wait.

Tauriel felt her breath rush out in relief as the spiders screeched and skittered away from that bright, blazing light. They screamed and ran to their dark places, but they would be back with more. They needed to move. Kili was beside her, a steady warmth at her side. His eyes darted around, then locked onto the  form of Radagast the Brown as the wizard tottered over. “Do you know where Fee and Kai are?” He asked the wizard, words coming out in a tangled rush.

Radagast looked at Kili  cross-eyed, a quizzical expression on his face. “No. Should I?”

“You’re a wizard, are you not?” Trastadis held her glaive with a white knuckled grip.

“Just because I’m a wizard doesn’t mean I know everything. If you wanted a wizard who knows everything then you need Gandalf” He said, patting his cloak absently.

“Perhaps you may not know where they are, but perhaps you could help us? The spiders may come back soon, and I don’t want them out there alone for too long.” Tauriel’s words didn’t betray the worry she felt. Kili grabbed her hand is his iron grip and she squeezed back. 

“It would be much appreciated.” Kili said, eyes wide and pleading. Tauriel swallowed, if nothing else, they would find Fili and Kai for Kili, she would see to that.

The wizard pulled on his beard, somehow avoiding the mass of bird poop pasted to the side of his face. “I will help. Reggi,” he started to address a hedgehog that he pulled out of his cloak, “Tell the others we are looking for two two-leggers who may have been eaten by spiders.” The hedgehog squirmed out of Radagast’s gentle grip and scampered off. He looked back at Tauriel, Kili, and Trastadis. “If they’re alive we will find them.”

 

. . .

 

Nia’Ara flew.

She couldn’t fly for long, she hadn’t built up the muscle for long flights, and the egg was heavy, and the knots strapping it to her chest might loosen and the egg might plummet. The truth was she was afraid of flying longer then an hour. It was glorious, but only in short bursts. So she didn’t make much progress, not the first few days.

Still, the constant stops made her better at landing, and taking off, and not crashing. 

Slowly though, slowly, she stayed in the air for longer, her fear of her wings disappearing on her dissipating. 

She loved night flying. The air was cold and crisp and filled with soft sounds. The moon was bright and vibrant and seemed to sing. There was less of a chance that people would see her at night. While the world was dark the people hid, afraid of orcs and the death that would come with them. It was in the day that she lay with the egg and hid from those people, curled into a dark ball and reading her scrolls.

Vren’Elev liked the moon too. The egg always shined in shimmered with cheerful colors when the moon’s light glided over her. Vren’Elev who had yanked Nia away from her home with the threat of death. Vren’Elev who had sparked the dragon sickness. Vren’Elev who had torn her from her twin. Vren’Elev who had given her wings, who had given her a perspective nobody else had.

Her wings beat the air and the wind ran over her scales. The trees below her were dark and impassive, occasionally shifting as something moved through them. A sound shrieked through the air, the sound of something dying. Nia shifted her wings and beat them again, shooting upward towards the bright moon. She kept one arm wrapped tightly around the egg. 

Vren’Elev who she had to protect.

Nia angled herself towards the mountain on the horizon and grinned as the wind yanked playfully at her scales.

 

. . .

 

It took them two days to find  the trail of scorched trees and burnt cobwebs that Fili and Kai’s flight had left behind. Even then, they only found it because of the large gold butterfly carrying with it one of Kai’s earrings. Radagast had picked up the gold loop with the glittering ruby and had looked up with surprised eyes. “This has magic in it, powerful magic. You did not tell me your friend was one of the lost ones.” His tone had been accusatory.

They had exchanged looks, but it was Kili who had spoken.”What do you mean by one of the lost ones?”

The wizard had pointed at the butterfly, which had leapt into the air and was slowly flying away. “Follow it,” he had commanded, his voice surprisingly introspective for one who had birds nesting is his hair.

So they had followed the golden butterfly, which darted through whatever beams of sun the foliage let through. Something bright and beautiful compared to the lurking darkness. They were attacked by spiders three more times, but between Kili’s arrows, Tauriel’s knives, Trastadis’s glaive, and Radagast’s magic they were able to defeat hulking monstrosities.

So here they where, two days later, standing on the edge of a sinkhole, staring at the crack the butterfly had traveled down. “Wizard,” Trastadis spoke finally, “do you have anything that moves stone?” There was a doubting tone in her voice. 

Kili gripped Tauriel’s hand tightly, “He can’t be dead, not after everything. They can’t be dead, can they?” Tauriel gripped his hand tighter in response.

Radagast pulled on his beard, stepped forward, and tapped the sunken earth with his staff. Finally he announced, “This isn’t natural. The earth opened up underneath them as they ran, then toppled on top of them as they fell. There is another magic here, the same magic in that butterfly and the earring. It shaped the earth into a dome above their heads. They are alive, but barely.”

“What type of magic could split the earth and make it swallow people whole?” Tauriel’s voice shook slightly.

“A dark one.”

“It’s your job to stop stuff like this wizard!” Trastadis’s voice was shrill and thin.

Radagast turned to glare at her. “I am not strong enough to hold back all the dark powers that plague this forest! I no longer have my staff to help me with my power, I gave it to Gandalf long ago! If the elf king would get off his ass and deal with those spiders I could of cleaned this forest long ago! Instead I too busy dealing with them to deal with the real problems!” He took a deep breathe and murmured quietly to Reggie who was curled up once again in his hand. “Pardon my language, Reggie, it was not directed at you.” He looked back up at the other three, brows furrowed in concentration. For a second he almost looked regal, even with bird poop on his face, but then the moment was gone. “I do not have the strength to move the earth, not with my powers spread thin through Mirkwood.”

“Can . . . we lend you strength?” Kili’s voice was hesitant but hopeful.

The wizard stopped to regard Kili with eyes that were suddenly much darker. “Yes . . .” his voice trailed of slightly, then suddenly he grinned. He no longer like a bumbling fool, poop on his face, leaves and twigs in his tangled hair, tattered robes, hedgehog in hand. He looked like something wild and ancient and not entirely constricted to mortal form. He looked powerful. “Yes . . . yes, if you are offering.”

Kili looked at Tauriel who squeezed his hand and smiled. Trastadis looked at him and nodded slightly. He looked back at the crouched wild thing that excluded danger. “Yes, we are.”

Radagast’s grin widened, he picked up a fallen branch, black and rotted, and the whole world exploded into a bright light.

 

. . .

 

Time passed oddly in the cave. It could only be measured in the minutes of conversation and silence. Fili and Kai skirted around topics and addressed others directly. They had discussed dwarven games and coming of age ceremonies, had talked about the varrying lifespans of the dravhenkin, and how the island was ruled. They talked about their homes, Fili’s in the Blue Mountains and Kai’s in his den on the side of a cliff. They talked, and slept, and tried to ignore the groaning of the earth above and stifling darkness around. 

“So what does your jewelry do?” Fili asked, tired of explaining the meanings of rocks and the meanings of plants that Bilbo had taught him when he had sat still for long enough.

Kai grinned slightly, “Lots of different things, it’s my hoard after all.”

Fili tried to ignore the sound of fire and the sound of a dragon’s laughter that echoed through his mind. “So, like, do you hoard any old thing, or is it specific?”

Kai’s ears bobbed slightly in what Fili was starting to believe was the equal of a shrug. “It’s individual. Nia hoards information, I hoard what I make and then spell in gold.”

“So what do the do?”

Kai pulled on his ruby chain earring. “This allows me to understand any language I hear or see.” He tapped a gold choker with a teardrop garnet that was almost black. “This helps make sure that my scales don’t chip.” He touched a ruby surrounded in the gold trim of his sleeve. “This makes sure that my rodes don’t rip.” He pulled back his sleeve to show a large creamy carnelian with dark red patterns set in gold that traveled up Kai’s arm and curled around his middle finger. “This one I made more recently, but before I met Kili and Tauriel. The stone was gorgeous, and I had the gold to spare. I haven’t figured what spell I’m going to put on it, I haven’t had the time.”

“The stone is carnelian, it’s a symbol for, well, uh, endurance.” Among other things, Fili thought but didn’t say.

Kai just grinned and pointed to his belt pouch. “This is for keeping my hoard, it can hold anything. The butterfly is a way to take small objects to other people far away. I have a moth that can be used to send messages kind of like your ravens.” He pointed to the ruby embedded into his other sleeve. “This is to keep my clothes from getting dirty.” He pointed to the broach on his collar, ornately woven gold that glittered with crushed gems. “This is to warn me when I’m using too much magic. I tend to ignore it though.” His voice trailed off sheepishly.

“So what’s the use of wearing it?” Fili asked.

Kai’s ears flicked down and up. “It looks cool, and it supposed to work, I just have to work at paying attention to it.”

“How does it warn you?”

“It grows cold.”

“So what is the necklace for?”

Kai looked at Fili, eyes wide with confusion. “Necklace?”

Fili raised an eyebrow. “The silver necklace vial? The one that doesn’t fit your theme.”

Kai stared at him some more, then took off the necklace to stare at it. “It’s what Galadriel gave me. It . . . Xur’Kar’s scales! Si’i mishun vin mala’i!” His ears twisted to lay flat against his scales as he scowled.

“What does it do again? I couldn’t quite catch that through all the draconic.”

Kai slumped slightly and fingered the vial. “It’s for power storage, but it doesn’t have enough to be useful yet, and I don’t have the power to do anything with the power in it, or at least a lot with it”

“Wow, that sucks.” For a few seconds they sat in the silence, until Fili’s eye caught something. Something gold and winged that was wriggling through the rocks. A golden butterfly minus an earing. Fili sat up, his eyes wide. “It got out.” His voice came in a breathless whisper.

Kai followed his gaze to the butterfly that flitted onto the dravehnkin’s finger. Kai’s ears lifted, he looked up and treated Fili to a sharp toothed grin as he gently put the butterfly into his belt pouch. “So it did.” The he frowned and his ears drooped again. “But how are they going to get us out without the ceiling collapsing on our heads?”

Fili frowned back at him. “Can you make another net?”

Kai gripped the vial tightly. “I might be able too, it won’t be anywhere near the strength of the first one though.”

Fili sighed. “Can’t hurt to try.”

Kai looked at him solemnly. “Yes, yes it can.” Then before Fili could ask him to explain that odd statement, Kai was said something sharp and guttural in draconic. “Feth’thos.” And slowly little lines of fire started to build around them.

 

. . .

 

When Trastadis came to, the whole world glowed. The wizard was a shining pillar, no longer as dimmed as he had been. The grass was woven with dull threads, the glowing rivers in the trees thin and worn. She could see the small glimmers of her own soul, threaded under her skin. She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe, when she opened them again the light was manageable. She got up slowly, bones aching, and grabbed glaive to support herself. Kili and Tauriel were waking up, struggling like she had. Standing, Trastadis could now see what exactly had changed.

There were rocks in the air, along with dirt and twigs. More were joining the ones in the air, coming out of the sinkhole. Slowly the originals drifted back down to sit among the trees.

She sat back down.

“Wha . . . what happened?” Kili’s voice, thick with exhaustion. Beside him Tauriel groaned and struggled to her feet.

“Well, I assume that Radagast took our energy to do that.” Trastadis shakilly pointed at the moving rocks.

“Would you shut up! I am trying to work!” Radagast’s voice wasn’t his voice, but it was. It was wrong, but not. Trastadis shook her head and shut up. Kili stood up, gripping Tauriel’s arm to keep himself steady. Tauriel pointed mutely at the sinkhole, and at the light wavering in it.

The last of the rocks thudded to the ground and Radagast when with them, gasping for breath. “There. Done.” 

Kili and Tauriel stumbled towards the edge of the hole, and Trastadis struggled up once more. A voice called up from the dark depths - the weak light had gone out - it was Fili’s voice. “Hey, can you help us out? Kai’s kinda unconscious.”

“Can’t,” Kili croaked back, “We had to lend Radagast strength for the spell. Bones feel like water.” He sat abruptly at the edge of the sinkhole and Tauriel sat beside him. “Wait, what happened to Kai?” Kili’s voice was shrill and cracked at the end. Trastadis hurried over, then collapsed when her legs gave out. She managed to get to Kili and Tauriel, but it was a close call. She could see Fili, pale and streaked with dirt, holding up a limp Kai? Was that Kai? The soul was right, flickering like flames, but it was dim and worn. And he had  _ scales _ . Kai didn’t have  _ scales. _

Fili frowned up at them, apparently unconcerned with having to hold up an unconscious, scaled version on Kai. “Didn’t you hear me? I said he was unconscious.”

“Yes but where did the  _ scales  _ come from!” Kili shrieked.

Fili looked down at Kai, looked back up at his brother, his brother’s One, and the other elf, then looked back at Kai. Finally the shrugged and said, “Funny story, apparently he was wearing an illusion this whole time.”

 

. . .

Nia landed a little ways off from the gate guarded by dwarves. There she paced back and forth out of sight, holding Vran’Elev tight to her chest. Should she rest and risk discovery? Or should she go forward and hope that they don’t shoot? She didn’t want to put the earring back on, although the illusion did cover the wings, people still started to get suspicious when they ran into something that they couldn’t see.

Finally she shook out her scales and folded her wings as close as they would go. Then she stepped out of her hiding spot and strode toward the gate. A deep voice yelled at her, “Halt! Who goes there!”

She took a deep breathe, bowed, and then called back. “I am Nia’Ara from Okr’Thel, and I have come to speak with your king!”


	14. All Hail Our Lord and Savior: Procrastination!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This title is actually tied to the story, and totally does not represent the writer's writing ability.

Nia was politely escorted by sword-point to the Great Hall of Erebor. She kept her wings tucked as close as possible, and had her arms wrapped around the smooth shell of Vran’Elev. The dwarves hadn’t taken her from Nia, and Nia hadn’t fought them when they had drawn their weapons. They had every right to paranoia, war was coming, and she was a black-scaled dravhenkin with wings.

She kept her eyes peeled in front of her, as an effort not to stare at the carvings on the walls. She didn’t want her fascination to be misinterpreted as a thief’s greed. So instead she focused on the reflection in gold in front of her. She had changed from the dravhenkin she had been. She was now skin, scales, and muscle. Her cloths were smeared with dirt and were jagged where she had made room for the wings. Her scales were chipped and dull. Her reflection was surrounded by the reflections of the dwarven guards around her. Their armor shone, their beards were intricately braided, and beside the shining visage they presented, she looked like some kind of beggar.

She wouldn’t of ever gone up to the Elders of Okr’Thel looking like this, nonetheless a king!

Vran’Elev’s shell hummed slightly, and Nia purred back to the egg. Then her side was being prodded and she was pushed into a side tunnel, and from then into a maze of passageways, till finally she stood in the middle of a hollow mountain, with two thrones in front of her. On one was a thin faced, dark eyed, dark haired dwarf. On the other was a rounder, softer-looking person, who wore no boots and had hair covered feet and only one hand. Beside the seated dwarf was a dwarven woman with a similar face and beside the one handed creature was another dwarf with very, very white hair.

She was pushed to her knees, and around her the dwarves bowed, and the bald one with the tattoos said. “King Thorin, this  _ thing _ would like to speak to you.” 

Nia wondered if this was normal, or her odd looks had pushed her to the top of priorities. Probably, especially with that emphasis on  _ thing. _

The dwarf on the throne raised a hand and looked at her. She met his gaze and said nothing. Finally the dwarf who must of been Thorin said, “Dwalin, stay. The rest of you may return to your posts.”

The female dwarf with the similar looks said, “Thorin!”

The soft person on the other throne nodded and said, “Sensible.” 

Thorin looked at Nia and commanded. “Who are you.”

“She called herself Nia’Ara from Ork’Thel.” Said the dwarf who must of been Dwalin.

Nia stood slowly, but kept her wings tucked close, trying to make herself as unimposing as possible. “I believe you have heard of my brother, Kai’Ran, who has  been traveling with two of your kin.”

The woman looked at Nia sharply. “Your brother has been traveling with my sons?”

“If your son’s names are Fili and Kili, then yes, he has been.”

For a second there was shocked silence, and the white haired dwarf stared at Nia with cunning eyes. Finally the soft creature with one hand said, “I have a better question, what are you?”

“That,” said the white-haired dwarf, “Bilbo, is a very good question, and one I would like to know the answer too.”

Nia rubbed Vran’Elev slightly, the shell warm under her finger tips. “If I was my brother, I would give you a one word answer that would give you more questions than answers, but I am not my brother, and if I am going to tell you what I am, you must be prepared to listen in full.”

“You are a storyteller?” The king under the mountain asked. He didn’t sound as if he believed her.

Nia tilted her head. “Yes, that is my hoard.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dwalin grip his weapon harder, and she hurried on. She didn’t want a confrontation with the family of her brother’s friends. “By hoard, I mean my interest. It is almost like a dragons need for gold, but less harmful.”

“I don’t know,” The soft creature named Bilbo said, leaning forward, “Knowledge can be a very powerful thing indeed. Go ahead and tell your tale.”

Nia smiled,making sure to not reveal her sharp teeth, and started to speak “I tell you a tale of long ago, when the world was young and our kind was none . . .

When the Valar created this world, they thought there was no more work left to be done, but then the Dark-One, we call him Vuth’Ith’Quen, created the dragons, and the Valar conversed and realized they needed an answer to this act. So they looked at the dragons, and used some of them to make something different, something better. The Valar called their creations the dravhen, which means dragon’s cousin. They could not breathe fire, and they did not collect gold. They collected knowledge, and they were supposed to be advisors. Some, a very few, learned magic, as the Valar and the wizards had. One of those was a dravhen named Xur’Kar.

One of the things the dravhen inherited from their cousins was that they had trouble having children. In dragons that wasn’t much of a problem, Vuth’Ith’Quen had created them to be many, but the Valar had made the dravhen few. Like many of her kin, Xur’Kar could not bear eggs, so instead she devised something different that would allow her to have the children she desired. She took one of her scales, one of her claws, a goblet of her blood, and her magic, then used these to create the first dravhenkin, the first of Xur’Kar’s children. Though, not all of us are hers, many were made from others who could not bear children who went to her for help. 

So the dravhenkin came into existence. Not made by the Valar, but created by one of their creations. Constructs made of bone, blood, and magic. We should of been pure, but Vuth’Ith’Quen tampered with us as if we had been just another thing the Valar wrote into the fabric of the world.

In our kind, we have many forms, and many abilities, and it all depends on what magic we have. Back then, all dravhenkin would have the thick scales and wings, but generations later, the blood used to make us thinned, and the magic that supported us grew.

That was when we discovered the seed Vuth’Ith’Quen had planted, and what had grown in our first few generations of peace.

We call it Dar’strix Chik’ohk. It roughly translates to Dragon Sickness.

By then it was evident that Vuth’Ith’Quen had a hand to play in the dravhens creation as well. They looked too similar to dragons, and when mortals struck down a dragon, there was always a great chance it had been dravhen. Most dravhen did not have the defenses to fight back, and it was found that they were a flawed creation. 

The dravhen had protected us, but as their numbers thinned the Dar’strix Chik’ohk set in on the dravhenkin with the thickest blood. The ones who looked like the dravhen the most. They were drawn to the dragons like moths to a flame. Many times they were eaten. Occasionally they were used as playthings. A few tried to fight the pull, and the sickness killed them.

We were forced from this land as our creators died and the dragons started to hunt us. We found refuge off the coast on the island of Ork’Thel. How we made it there, and what we did to keep ourselves hidden is a different story, one to be told at another time.

That is the history of our creation, listen close to the message it holds, and may you not repeat our ancestors mistakes.” Nia’s voice broke slightly at the end, and she could feel the incredulous stares faced her way. She hadn’t meant for her wings to encircle her and Vran’Elev, but they did, protection made of sinew and scales. She added on as an afterthought. “I have not come because of Dar’Strix Chik’ohk, though that was why I came to the mainland. I managed to keep away while the last dragon breathed, but his death revealed the real pull, and I had to come, or forsake my life.” She swept her wings to flare out behind her and presented the egg to the King, his Consort, and his Advisors. “This is why I came. This is the last child of the dravhen race, and I am to protect her as long as I still draw breath. I ask for sanctuary, at least till my brother arrives. I offer my help to fight Vuth’Ith’Quen’Jillral’s forces while I am here. You will find that I can be quite handy in a fight.” She pulled Vran’Elev close to her chest and bowed, wings sweeping in front and behind like another set of arms. She waited there with baited breath, her head down, eyes fixed on the floor.

Thorin’s voice echoed out, strong and majestic. “You are welcome here, but you will be expected to do your part in the war effort. This is not because of your story, though that had some sway in this decision. I allow you here because your brother saved my nephew’s life.”

Nia sagged like her stings had been cut. “Thank you.”

The woman beside Thorin gave Nia a sharp look. “You said you are handy in a fight. How.”

“My scales are impenetrable, and my skin is tough as well. I mainly fight hand to hand, and I’m stronger than someone my size should be. I have claws on both my hands and feet, I can fly, and I can also summon Dragon fear if needed. But I can’t do that often.”

She gave Nia a sharper look. “Dragon fear?” She did not get an answer to her question. A messenger ran in, his voice ringing on the walls.

“Sauron’s messenger is back! He stands at the gate!”

 

. . .

 

They managed, after a short rest, to get Fili and Kai out of the sinkhole. Kai was still unconscious, and freezing to the touch. Trastadis said his soul was wrong, all dimmed like it had been used up. And all Fili could think about was how Kai had said it could hurt if he tried to build a net. He tried to dismiss the thought, no sane creature would actually use up their own soul to do magic, would they?

Radagast tottered over, and poked Kai with his stick. “Your dravhenkin isn’t healthy.” He said.

“Dravhenkin?” Asked Kili.

“Not healthy.” Muttered Fili.

“His soul is banked.” Trastadis told Radagast as the wizard bent over Kai’s prone form.

“Dravhenkin. I’ve heard the word dravhen, but not dravhenkin.” The others looked looked at Tauriel, whose eyes were narrowed in thought. Radagast ignored them all, instead running a finger over the thin scales on the back of Kai’s hand. Tauriel continued, “It is something Treebeard mentioned in his song of all the creatures of Middle Earth. Creatures made in parody of dragons.”

“Yes, yes.” Radagast snapped, “We all know about dravhens. Your dravhenkin is dying. I’d say too much magic in such a short time. Really he should know better, his magic is the only thing keeping him alive. Too little dravhen blood to survive without the magic, just enough to keep him alive. We must take him to my place, I’ve got something to fix him up there.”

Fili, about to comment that they all, in fact, did not know about dravhens, ended up saying instead.”He’s dying!”

“Come on, come on, pick him up, we don’t have much time. You’re lucky, my place isn’t overly far from hear. And once I fix him up, I can take you to see Thrandriel, yes I can.” He herded Kili into picking Kai up, gave Fili some water and some kind of fruit, and then set off, leaving the others to follow him into the shrouded woods.

 

. . . 

 

Nia followed awkwardly behind the group as they strode toward the parapets. Her feet echoed oddly on the stone floors, and Vran’Elev hummed with worry in her arms. The dwarven woman moved beside Nia, eyes still sharp and suspicious. “Thorin,” She said, “I don’t think it is such a good idea to allow this person to come with us.”

Bilbo slowed down to walk on Nia’s other side, and he shot the dwarven woman an amused and fond glance. “Dis, she needs to know who she’s fighting against, doesn’t she?” The dwarven woman, Dis, made a disparaging noise, but Bilbo ignored her, and focused on Nia instead. “The sentences and the beginning and end of your story sounded ritualistic.”

Nia, slightly surprised, said, “Yes, they are the traditional ways of beginning and ending a story.”

Bilbo made a slight confirming noise, then winked at her. “I better head up there, I make a better impression if I’m standing at Thorin’s side. That way if her starts to toe the line, I can remind him that diplomacy exists.” He moved up to stand beside Thorin, the started to converse with him in low whispers.

Nia tore her eyes away and focused on Dis instead. “You don’t like me much, do you?”   
Dis narrowed her eyes slightly, “I haven’t decided yet. Currently though, I’m trying to figure out what your brother is like from how you are like.”

“Kai! No you don’t want to use me as a template for him. For one his scales are much thinner than mine. Also he’s much more reckless, and hotheaded, and ridiculous in general. Also he can’t fight very well, so.”

Dis raised an eyebrow. “That’s not what my son’s said.”

Nia started to grin. “Kai? Depends on if you count starting fires as fighting. He also isn’t stealthy or subtle at all.”

Dis made a pointed look at Nia’s wings, but said something else instead. “Seems like you don’t have much good to say about your brother.”

Nia’s grin widened slightly, and she forgot to cover her teeth. “Ohh, Kai’s great. He smart when he’s not being a firebug, he’s loyal, brave, and, though he would never admit it, even to himself, he’s kind.”

“Uh huh, I’ll have to reserve judgment.” Then Dis moved up with the others, and Nia was once again left trotting behind. This time it wasn’t as awkward, and soon she moved up closer to stand beside the dwarf who had brought her in. Dwalin, was his name.

He didn’t acknowledge her, so she didn’t acknowledge him, and soon they were walking out of the tunnels into the light, onto the parapet. Nia had to blink repeatedly, the shift from light to dark, did not do anything good for her eyes. When she could see without squinting, she moved back up with the rest of the party, to stare down at a dirty, black, rag covered rider a top and black, emaciated horse.

She wondered why he felt so nasty, it wasn’t the black. Black was a common scale color, almost as common as red or green, so it couldn’t be the black. There was just something disgusting about him, something that gave of the feeling of evil. 

“I am here, King Under the Mountain, to hear your answer. Will you bargain with us and have your nephew back? Or will you throw him away and have war.” There was something horrible in that voice, something monstrous. It wasn’t the fact that it sounded like leaves over leaves, the dry and dead kind, but the sound still managed to carry to her ears. It was something else. Nia held Vran’Elev closer as her ears twisted to lay flat against her head and a growl built in her throat.

She saw Thorin’s fingers clench on the parapet, heard his teeth grind. Finally he said, “I ask you to wait for our decision. The wheels of government turn slowly, and we have not managed to reach a decision yet.”

Even from this distance, Nia saw the messenger’s eyes flare red, and it soft voice had an extra crackle to it. The whole valley turned dark, as if clouds had covered the sun, though the skies were clear and blue. “The next time I arrive it will be the last, and I will arrive with an army at my back. Make your decision then!” The horse made some sound, some horrible animalistic sound, and swung away. Soon, too soon, the rider and it’s master had ridden from view. 

Thorin sighed and unclenched his fists. “Let's hope Fili and Kili come home soon with the Elf-King’s answer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vuth’Ith’Quen = The Dark One  
> Dravhen=Dragon's cousin  
> Dar’strix Chik’ohk = Dragon sickness  
> Vuth’Ith’Quen’Jillral = Sauron


	16. Something Sickening

Radagast led them through the woods, his feet shuffling quickly over leaves and roots. Any energy he had expended during his feat of magic had come back in record time. The rest of the group was not as lucky. Kili and Fili struggled with carrying Kai, while Tauriel and Trastadis leaned on each other for support. The shadows beneath the trees seemed thicker, more present, they had the feel of hidden things just under the bed or in the darkened closet. A childish feeling of being afraid of the imaginary monsters in the dark. But the dangers were all too real, and the skittering sounds of movement followed them.

They were attacked by spiders twice more, and barely managed to fend them off. Trastadis got a long gash across her cheek, Kili, a slash along his side. The spiders skittered behind and beside them, mandibles clacking with hunger. They were hounded all the way to the little house, so much a part of the forest that a tree had grown straight through it. A frail refuge from the hoard that pursued them.

They rushed in, and Tauriel pushed her back to the door, panting deeply. Kai was dumped unceremoniously onto the table, his limbs flopping limply. His skin had gone very pale, and his scales dull. The vivid colors of his robes and jewels made his skin and scales look even more drained of color. Fili grabbed Kai’s wrist, feeling for a pulse. There, faint, but it was there. He sighed in relief.

Trastadis positioned herself by one of the windows, glaive at the ready. Kili did the same thing at another opening. Radagast ran around, throwing open cabinets and searching through vials. “You have to keep him steady!” He called, around his face a bird flapped wildly. With a quick movement, Radagast removed his hat and the bird flew into its nest, then the hat was placed back on Radagast’s head..

“How?”

“Keep him warm!” 

Of course, keep him warm. Kai was always so cold when he used too much magic, all Fili had to do was keep him warm. Fili let go of Kai’s hand and searched around for something, anything - there! A blanket, thick and made of wool. Fili rushed over and grabbed it, dropped it on top of Kai’s prone form. The rough fabric looked wrong on Kai’s bright clothes.  He shook those thoughts out of his head and looked around wildly. “Don’t you have a wood stove! Or something!”

Radagast paused, aghast at the very thought. “What? No!”

Something pounded on the door, the clacking of mandibles surrounded the house. Radagast cursed, and pulled out a dusty green vial. Fili grabbed his swords, looked at Tauriel, and nodded. She ducked away from the door and he stabbed forwards, swords stabbing into the spider’s face. The spider gave a keening cry and fell back, blades coming out of the flesh with a sickening sound. Fili heard a whistle by his ear. Tauriel had her bow out, it sang as the arrows pierced their targets. 

Then he was slamming the door shut and Tauriel was holding it with him. “We can’t hold the door forever!” She called out, her voice cracking slightly. Kili was fighting by his window, sword slicing off whatever appendages entered through the opening. Trastadis had wedged her glaive into the window, and was striking out with a long knife at anything that moved. For a second Fili caught sight of Kai at the edge of his vision, pale, lifeless, then Radagast was opening his mouth and pouring the green stuff down Kai’s throat.

Then Kai was screaming, although it sounded less like a scream and more like a pain filled roar. It ended as suddenly as it had begun, and there was a second of absolute silence as Kai arched on the table, mouth gaping as if he continued to scream. The woolen blanket started to blacken and char. His eyes had opened, glowing a vivid red. Lines appeared, edging his scales, glowing the same violent color.

The spiders outside froze as if noticing that something was going on.

Radagast yelled at them to take cover. 

And the world exploded into heat, heat that sucked the water out of the air, heat that sucked the life out of living things. Fili closed his eyes as if he could keep them from burning.

Then the temp dropped, and the dry air was cold on his skin. Fili cracked his eyes open to see that he was not burnt to ash. Everyone had been forced against various walls, and there was no sound from outside. Kai lay on the burnt table, skin back to its normal brown, scales once again vibrant, his eyes were cracked and glowing, his chest moved up and down with his breath. Fili got up, everyone else was groaning and moving as well, except for Radagast, who just sat by the wall and laughed.

The whole room was covered in a layer of ash. The side of the tree facing Kai was black and burnt. Fili’s clothes were singed and flaking off. Yet somehow, he wasn’t burnt. Neither was Kili, Tauriel, Trastadis, Radagast, or the bird, which now flitted around the room in confusion. (The hat apparently being knocked from Radagast’s head in the explosion.) Fili moved over to Kai and checked his pulse. Strong, steady, and the skin was warm to the touch. “Hey, you okay?”

Kai’s eyes widened slightly, and he grinned as well, teeth bright and white and sharp. His pupils were dilated, wide and diamond-like, black pools against the glowing red, with swirls of gold and orange that cold only be noticed at a close distance. Fili couldn’t help but think that Kai looked like a cat that had gotten high on catnip. “Hhhhiiiiiiii Fili.” He slurred happily, then his eyes rolled back into his head. A pair of eyelids, an almost translucent pair, flicked sideways across his eyes, then his more human-like pair slid down. His mouth closed, but a small smile curled up at the edges of his lips. 

Tauriel got shakily to her feet, moved forward a few steps, and the door swung open. Outside there was nothing but burnt char, and the silhouettes of spiders burned into the trees. Trastadis’s voice was shaky, she stared out at the outlines in shock. “I think I speak for everyone here when I say, what the fuck?”

Radagast pushed himself up, shuffled to the other side of Kai, and pressed his fingers to his neck. “Good news!” He said, as the bird fluttered down to perch on his head. “He’s stable.”   
“Bad news?” Fili asked, feeling a sinking in his gut.

Radagast cackled. “He’s going to be loopy for days.” 

Kili walked over, hand clasped to his side. “How about,” he said in a cheerful voice, “you tell us what happened while we get bandaged up. You do have bandages, right?”

Radagast stared at him. “Yes, yes, of course.” He pattered off in search of medical supplies. Fili sat down, and noticed for the first time that there didn’t seem to be any chairs. Kili sat down next to him, and Tauriel beside Kili. For a second Trastadis just stood awkwardly, then she slumped down to sit opposite of them. Everyone sat there in tired silence until Radagast shuffled back and dumped  bandages onto Kili’s lap.

“So,” Tauriel said, picking  up the bandages and inspecting Kili’s wound, “explain.”

Radagast sat down, fiddling with his hat, now back in his hands. “I jump-started his magic. Obviously I gave him too much, after all the big boom happened. But, what’s leftover is just enough to keep him stable, but he won’t be able to do anything magicky till he’s no longer loopy.”

“Magicky?” Trastadis’s voice wasn’t as confused as Fili was expecting. It was just dry, and tired.

Radagast sent her a glare. “Don’t saw that word.”

“You just did.”

Fili lost the last bits of the conversation as a haze covered his mind. “ . . . when I cast a spell, I use a little bit of my life force.” Kai had said that, hadn’t he? But Fili hadn’t been focusing on that part, he’d been focused on the fact that he had been locked up for helping his sister. Kai had told him he died a little every time he used his magic, and Fili hadn’t noticed. And he had asked Kai to make a net of fire, and Kai had. And then he had almost died.

For a second fear closed Fili’s throat, then he noticed something dangling by his head. Kai’s hand, long-fingered, translucent red scales on the back, brown flesh on the palm. The sleeve on his robe had been pulled up slightly, and the slim arm disappeared into the red fabric. Sometime during that cave Fili had stopped looking at Kai as if he was a monster, and started looking at him like he was a person. Sometime during the cave, those claws hands stopped being something he could fear, and became almost reassuring. No more secrets to hide. 

He leaned his head back against the table and sighed. Kai was alive. Alive. And Fili would make sure he stayed that way. The dwarf closed his eyes, and with that thought circling in his mind, fell asleep.

 

. . .

 

Kili felt Fili’s head land on his shoulder, and he turned slightly to look down on his golden-haired sibling. He was dirty again, skin streaked with dust and mud, clothes torn and ripped, scabs occasionally glimpsed through the cuts. His hair was knotted and his eyes were ringed with dark circles. Safe, his brother was safe. This was twice now that he’d lost him, twice now that he had failed! He felt Tauriel wrap her hand around his, felt her lips press against his temple. “He’ll be fine.” She murmured against his skin.

Kili looked at her and started to smile. The meager light filtered down onto her hair and made it glow, her skin was pale, her green eyes burning. Beautiful. Ever since he first saw her, he covered in cobwebs and she a warrior of his uncle’s enemy. Beautiful and dangerous, with courageous heart and a fierce mind. How could he not love her? How could anyone not love her? He pressed his forehead against hers. “Of course.” He murmured back. “Of course.”

“Radagast,” said Trastadis, cleaning her cheek with a wet cloth, “You said you would help us with Thrandriel. How?”

Radagast blinked. “He will listen to me. He respects me. Besides, the armies are marching, the Dark Lord has his ring. He has to listen to me.”

Trastadis gave a snort of derision, but Tauriel was nodding. “Thrandriel does respect Radagasts word, but he also does not enjoy listening to people who tell him to look outside his own borders. Our best bet would be to talk to his sons. Legolas might help, and maybe some of the other elves, but our chance of getting Thrandriel on our side is very slim. Even with your help, Radagast.”

Kili grimaced slightly. “I don’t like Legolas. But you’re right, he would be our best bet.”

Trastadis thought for a second, “You forget something, I am Gladriel’s personal guard. She sent me so we would have a better chance of talking to him. He may not like her, but he respects her. He will listen to what I say.”

Radagast stroked his bird, which perched on his finger and crooned as he scratched its neck. “We forget something.” He said, calmly. “The Dark Lord has his ring. With this, he has been able to raise armies quicker than usual. Thrandriel has no choice but to fight if he wants to survive, because the Dark Lord has no use for living things that might defy him in the future. Not when the dead serve willingly.” 

For a second everyone froze slightly, and the words echoed around the tiny room. Kili swallowed, then said slowly, “I know the Dark Lord raised the nine kings he gave the rings to, but I always thought that was because of the rings he got them to wear. But, you’re suggesting that, that he can raise the dead without the use of those rings?”

Radagst nodded, and the bird hopped back into its nest. “It’s not a skill he possesses without the One Ring, but with it? Yes, yes he can.”

“There’s a dead dragon near Erebor.” Kili said softly. “Do you think he could raise that?”

Radagst broke down laughing. “He has only had his ring for three years, he cannot have all his power back.”

“Then why is he making his move now?” Tauriel’s voice was quiet.

Trastadis removed the wet cloth from her face. “Erebor will need defences against the dragon.”

“The last black arrow is stuck in the chest of Smaug, we have no others.” Kili, looked back down at his brother, then up at his One, and something cold clawed its way into his chest. 

Radagast tutted slightly. “Oh, I do wish the Blues had not disappeared. They always had a way of making the situation much less frightening.”


	17. Something New and Something blue

Nia crouched on the wall of Erebor, staring at the skies above. Stars glittered in the blackness, occasionally covered by soft grey clouds. The constellations were different then the ones at the island, shapes she could see but not name. She wondered if the dwarves had records of the stars, maybe she could find one willing to tell her all they knew. She could see some of them now, placed at intervals down the walkway, weapons in hand, armor glinting, eyes flicking between her and the places they were supposed to look.

She turned her gaze back to the stars, and felt the egg strapped between her wings thrum. She twisted to lay a hand on the shell, felt the warmth beneath her fingers. She turned her gaze down, towards were the trees were dark and silhouetted by the sky, almost the same darkness but not quite as velvet. A waiting darkness that was deeper and more dangerous. Kai was there, somewhere in those dark woods. She leaned forward slightly, placed both hands on the stones, shifted her weight and spread her wings. She could leave. Find him and come back. They were supposed to meet here! Yet he had not come! It had been a few days since she came, and she could see the worry in Dis’ and the King’s eyes, in the way Bilbo grabbed the stump of his hand.

It would be so easy to drop down, and catch the wind under her wings, fly that way and find him. She sighed and rolled her shoulders, let her fingers release their hold. No. She would stay here, help out here, and wait. She would trust her brother to look after himself, or at least trust his companions to pull him out of harm's way.

She stood, and stretched, her wings spreading out behind her. She would keep watch for a while longer, she didn’t want to go inside with the close stone walls crowding in on her. She wanted to stay under the skies and stars.

“Is it true that your brother is with my cousins?”

Nia jerked in surprise, lost her balance, fell. For a second the world spirled around her, then her wings snapped out, caught the wind. She shot up, hovered for a second, landed on the wall and gripped it with both feet and clawed hands. There was a dwarfling in front of her, red haired and big eyed. 

“Are you okay?” Even young his voice had a rough quality to it, he had the muscles of a warrior in training.

“I’m fine. You just startled me, that's all.” She settled slightly, wings shifting, looked at the dwarfling. “You’re cousins are Fili and Kili?” 

“Well, not exactly. They’re close enough to be my cousins. They used to play with me before they went on their big grand adventure and left me behind.” He scowled.

Nia felt herself starting to smile. “Yes, my brother is with them.”

“Is it true you’re descended from creatures that were like dragons?”

“Yes.” Now she was smiling fully, a grin wide and sharp. “Were you eavesdropping?” The face that looked at her was unrepentant. “Good for you. Eavesdropping is one of the best ways to get information, though sometimes you only get part, and not all. Only half of information is dangerous, it helps you make assumptions that can lead you astray.”

His eyes narrowed. “You sound experienced.”

“I am. What’s your name?”

A pause. “Gimli,” he gave a bow, “At your service.”

Nia stood and bowed as well, wings sweeping in front and behind. “Nia’ Ara, at yours.”

 

. . .

 

In another world, quite different than the one of Middle Earth, two people sat outside a cafe in Paris. One wore a blue summer dress and a cream hat with a blue ribbon. She nibbled on a croissant as she looked out towards the throngs of people. Beside her sat her friend, or sibling, depending on the thoughts of who looked at them. They wore a blue dress shirt with cream pants, and blue and cream shoes with roller blades. They sat watching the crowds as well.

“Do you ever wonder,” the first one said, “What's going on over there.” She waved her hand in a vague, airy fairy gesture. 

“We know what’s going on there,” said the second, they reached down into their cream purse and pulled out a book. They placed it on the table with a decided thunk. “Tolkien was a nice lad and wrote it all down for us.”

“Though he did need a little convincing.” She nibbled on her croissant.

“Only a little push, that's all. He got everything right off after that.”

“He did have the ability to See, he just needed that ability to be jump started a little.”

Once upon a time in a different world, these two were known as the Blues. Now, the first went by the name Azure, and second went by the name Cobalt. Most people who saw the two thought they were siblings who had parents with a bad taste in names. Those people also thought they had a sense of humor, as both of them dressed in cream and the shade of blue that matched their names. Others believed that they were simply two people with weird names who had found each other and stuck with each other.

“Still,” Azure went one, as she placed her croissant back on the plate, “it’s nice to know we weren’t needed in the end. That everything worked out without us.”

Cobalt snorted, their eyes scanning the crowd. “No, it’s not. Sure, I’m glad everything worked out. But it would have still been nice to have been able to help. We could have prevented all that tragedy at the Shire.”

“We could of told them that something was wrong with The White Wizard.” Azure’s voice lowered to a growl on the words. 

“Helped out in the East.” Cobalt stared out into nothing, thinking on the past.

Azure signed and played with her croissant. “So much, we could of done so much. But we couldn't because we were stuck here.”

“At least this world isn’t all bad,” sighed Cobalt, leaning back in their chair, “at least it didn’t all fall apart on the other side.”

“Yeah.” They looked at each other, grinned. “You shouldn’t lean back like that,” Azure’s voice had gone soft, “You’re wearing skates, you’ll hurt yourself.”

“Pffttt. We’re wizards. Even being in this world, that hasn’t changed.”

“No, it hasn’t.”

For a second, silence, the silence of two people who have known each other for centuries. 

Then that silence was broken, in a way that changed everything.

A voice, soft and warm, feminine and all knowing. The voice of one who had stories in her blood.  **_“There you are, my two Blues.”_ **

Azure and Cobalt looked at each other, then Azure pulled out her phone and placed it two her ear. “Hello Vairë, it’s nice to hear your voice. How’d you find us?”

**_“You are part of my tapestry, as all creatures are. I only needed to look.”_ **

“Finally remembered us, did you? After you replaced us with the ones who wore robes of sea blue? Remind me, did they succeed in their quest, or did they fail? Oh wait, nobody knows.” Cobalt hissed, anger in their voice. 

A pause, a thought.  **_“You were the ones who disappeared on your task. ”_ **

Azure’s voice was cold as she spoke to the phone. “As you said, you only needed to look, you could of looked instead of replacing us.”

Cobalt voice broke. “We didn’t mean to disappear. We were on our way to the east, then a rip in the fabric of the world, and then we were here. You abandoned us. We needed you and you abandoned us!”

“Aren’t rips in the fabric of the world you’re department, Weaver? The one everyone thinks is less powerful then she is.”

“You don’t need us. Everything works out fine.”

“Frodo destroys the ring, the necromancer dies.”

“You don’t need us. Isn’t that the reason you sent us away?” Hurt and anger with all the thoughts of wanting to help fleeing.

**_“Perhaps in another universe, in another tapestry, but not this one.”_ ** A pause, uncertain, a silence from the wizards, uncertain.  **_“We need you. You were never replaced, you were set aside. Set aside as hidden weapons for when things go wrong.”_ **

Cobalt gripped the table hard. “We met the man with the Sight. He Saw what happened. He wrote it down.”

**_“But he was never certain about the Blues, was he? He saw to Middle Earth, but into a different one. A different weave. He wrote it down, but that’s not the one that’s happening now.”_ **

“What is happening now.” Azure’s voice was soft, a command instead of a question.

**_“You remember the dravhens? The dravhenkin? Were they written onto the pages of the books you have read?”_ **

Cobalt looked uncertain, then looked to Azure. Azure stood up, moved to pull Cobalt up onto bladed feet. “Fill us in on the way home. We need to grab some supplies.” They spend off, Cobalt first in their roller blades, Azure after them, skirt twirling around her legs as she strode.

**_“Of course, my Blues. Do you still have your staffs?”_ **

The two Blues smiled, and on a table in front of a cafe in Paris, a copy of  _ The Hobbit,  _ old and worn and signed, winked out of existence and into Cobalt’s bag.

 

. . .

 

Somehow, with Radagast’s presence to guide them, the woods looked less dim, their shadows less solid. Or perhaps that had less to do with Radagast’s presence and more to do with Kai’s explosion of power at the house. Or maybe both.

The group had stayed at Radagast’s house for a day. They would have stayed longer a little longer, to give Fili and Kai time to regain their strength, but Radagast received word from one of his little birdies about the messenger at the gate of Erebor. 

So they had left, into the dark woods filled with shadows and spiders. With Radagast’s help they found the path again, stayed on it this time too. This time, Fili realized, they would not be dragged to dungeons and searched, weapons stripped and treated like filth. They would march up to the front door, a wizard, a guard, an exile, two princes, and a being from a race that had been forgotten. They would go to the front door in dirty clothes and wrent armor and dignity, and in Kai’s case, a loopy hello in a language no one understood. 

Well, not no one. Radagast knew the language, and through their trip, Kai had been testing the wizard. Sentences that sounded like actual sayings and some that sounded like nonsense, the dravhenkin would laugh every time the wizard stumbled on the words, giggled wildly whenever the wizard complained of a dialect shift.

Perhaps the woods didn’t play their tricks because they weren’t sure what to make of a person who laughed with such joy in their darkness.

In all honesty, Fili wasn’t sure what to make of it either. Loopy was an understatement to how Kai was acting. Drunk was more accurate. Very, very drunk. His steps were uneven, his movement exaggerated, pupils dilated, and words slurred. Trastadis had a grip on his shoulder to keep him from falling over, and every time she rescued him from face planting he would pat her hand and grin.

Perhaps that was the oddest thing about loopy Kai, he was happy. Fili hadn’t realized how much he was faking till he saw this happiness. His eyes glowed, his scales shown, and he never stopped smiling. It was unnerving, because Fili knew the only reason why he was so happy was because he was loopy.

Fili’s foot hit a root, he almost went flying but Kili’s hand on his arm steadied him. Like Trastadis, Kili was playing keeper while Tauriel stayed close to Radagast, keeping him on the path when even the wizard got confused.  _ “Careful there,” _ Kili said in dwarvish,  _ “That’s the fourth time you’ve tripped.” _

Fili tore his eyes from Kai, at the gale sound that flickered through the air as Radagast murmured something that was probably an insult.  _ “Yeah, sorry. Knees are a bit weak.” _

Kili’s eyes flicked from Fili to Kai and back again. A smile played across his lips, it was the ‘I’m about to get someone annoyed at me’ smile. Fili felt a pit open in his stomach.  _ “Ohh, really?” _ Kili drew out the words, practically singing them.  _ “You’re legs are weak, huh?” _

Tauriel’s eyes flicked back towards them, she saw the smile on Kili’s mouth, started to grin as well. A stab of annoyance shot through Fili.. _ “Yes,” _ he hissed, lowering his voice,  _ “I was trapped in a cave for days. It happens.” _

For a second Kili’s smile shifted, more sad then teasing, but then it was back full force.  _ “Yes,” _ he drawled, _ “Alone. In a cave. For days. With Kai.” _

Fili stopped moving, could feel his face burning. He jerked his brother to stop and hissed in his ear.  _ “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do.” _

_ “Me? Nothing. Nothing at all.” _

_ “We played this game with Thorin, remember?” _ _   
_ Kili batted his eyes.  _ “Oh brother, what are you insinuating?” _

Fili groaned and started walking again. Why him? Why was he stuck with the most annoying person in the world as his brother?  _ “Nothing happened.” _ He gritted out.

_ “Then why haven’t you been able to stop staring at him?” _

_ “I haven’t been staring at him this whole time. I slept some.”  _

_ “I’ll give you that.”  _  When Fili looked, Kili was still smirking. But slowly his face settled into something more serious.  _ “What happened down there?” _

_ “We shared some fears.”  _  Fili’s eyes flickered to Kai again. He was frowning, eyes narrowed in concentration, feet place one in front of another as if he was trying to walk in a line. His balance was awful, arms pinwheeling in an attempt to help. He tripped on the hem of his robe, almost went sprawling. Trastadis had the face of someone who had been suffering for a very long time.

Fili nearly face planted again. Maybe Kili did have a point. Had something changed down there, in the dark? Nah, he was imagining things. And Kili was just messing with him in the way that brother’s did.

Beside him, Kili sucked in a sudden breath. He looked up in time to see someone, tall, blond, elvish, step onto the path. He recognized the voice, the half hushed word. “Tauriel.”

Tauriel’s voice wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t warm either. “Legolas.”

Kai jerked forwards, fingers splayed and hands waving. “Hiiiiiiiiiiiii! I’m Kai!” 

Kili quickened his steps, and muttered under his breath. _ “Great.” _ With a grimace, Fili followed.

The elf prince stood in front of them, feet planted firmly on the path, an arrow nocked, but his bow was pointed at the ground, and Fili thought he could see uncertainty in the set of his shoulders. He gazed at the party, at Kili and Tauriel as Kili stepped close to her, at the braids in their hair, and for a second, Fili thought he saw pain across the elf’s face. The elf moved his gaze from the two to Fili, haughty coldness back in his expression, then to Radagast, and then to Trastadis,who had her arms wrapped around Kai’s middle so the dravhenkin wouldn’t run forward. Kai, who was no longer wearing his illusion.

The shock of seeing a scaled being that was acting like he was drunk registered plainly on the elf's face. Fili didn’t try to hide his grin. Kai was something indeed, making hoity toity elf nobles lose control of their carefully constructed masks.

Legolas focused his gaze on Radagast, though it strayed once towards Tauriel and Kili. “What do you want.” He said, his shoulders slumping slightly. Just slightly, not even a full inch.

Radagast brought himself up, dignity draping off his shoulder like a cloak, slightly ruined by the bird poop on his face. “Well, Legolas, we need to speak to your father.”


	18. After Eternity in Mirkwood, The Gang Finally Gets Something Done

Kai wasn’t certain what was going on, the elf had appeared, had drawn Radagast away, and had spoken to him in the bird-like language of the elves. Of course Kai could understand him, his earring was a masterwork of mage craft, but he was distracted. The trees were moving again, not on the way trees were supposed to move, he was pretty sure, but in a way that reminded him of long grasping claws clenching and unclenching. 

There were also stars in the trees, many, many stars, but the stars didn’t approach, so Kai figured that the stars couldn’t be overly dangerous. Even if they did seem to glitter malevolently.

“ _ Okay, I will.” _ Said the elf, whose name was Legolas, at least that was the name Tauriel had called him by. Kai tore his gaze away from the trees and stars to look at the elf and wizard. Radagast looked haggard, but he held himself with importance. Legolas looked stiff, cold, and detached.

Legolas turned, started to walk down the path, each foot placed carefully. Radagast followed him, then Tauriel and Kili. Trastadis let Kai go, then shifted and pulled Fili to the other side of her. The trio stepped forward, Trastadis gripping their shoulders to keep them steady. Kai blinked slightly, watching Tauriel and Kili as they walked. The elf was stiffer then he had ever seen her. 

Kai poked Trastadis. “Is Tauriel okay? She’s acting like you used to.”

Fili poked his head around Trastadis and whispered, “Legolas had a thing for Tauriel a while back, and he’s not exactly thrilled about her One being a dwarf.”

Kai thought for a moment, then said. “But I thought elves and dwarves loved only once. So how can you have a thing for someone if they aren’t you’re One?” Perhaps it made sense to people whose minds were not focused on the scary trees and stars.

Trastadis hummed slightly. “You can admire someone and find them attractive without them being your One. Haven’t you ever found anyone attractive?”

“There was one guy back home with silver scales. Silver scales! They were so glittery!” He frowned, poked at the back of his hand were his normal red scales gleamed. “Of course we never really talked. Ever. The ones with metallic scales are supposed to be destined for great things. Though what great things you can accomplish on an island I don’t know. Either way, it doesn’t matter. And my scales are way too boring to have caught anyone's attention.”

“Your scales aren’t boring.” FIli said, quietly, with a vaguely affronted tone, though why he should care, Kai wasn’t sure.

“That's because I’m the first talking humanoid being with scales that you’ve ever seen. But red is a common color, so my scales are boring, especially compared to Nia’s.” Hers were dark, so dark that if they caught the light they shimmered with greens and blues and purples. His were just boring, plain. He wasn’t exactly sure why he cared, maybe he was using his scale color as a distraction? He didn’t like being unsure of his own thoughts.

There was a pause. “Anyway, Ones are complicated things. Occasionally you can tell at first glance, occasionally you won’t know until much later, occasionally people don’t have Ones, and occasionally you become so enamored with someone that you think they are your One but they aren’t,” Trastadis continued, her voice slightly strangled.

“Kili knew at first glance,” said Fili, “He said he saw Tauriel with spider blood on her face and he just knew. Uncle Thorin and Bilbo however,” he chuckled, “went the whole journey slowly figuring out they were Ones and then refusing to admit it to themselves and each other. It was hilarious. And I,” he added with a trace of smugness, “won the betting pool.”

“Well,” Kai said. “I think dravhenkin have it easier. We just pull sticks.”

“You’re joking.” Fili’s voice was flat. Had Kai told him about it in the cave? He didn’t remember.

Kai laughed and nearly tripped. They didn’t really pull sticks. It was a rotation, pairs chosen by the council for desired qualities. He’d been locked up before he could go on rotation for the first time, missed it by a couple of days. But for some reason, it didn’t seem right to explain it to people who had always known that they would be loved. “Maybe I am. Still, its for the best. Hoards, you know.” He waved his hands slightly as if he was making a grand point.

Trastadis took the bait. “Are you overly protective of your hoards?”

Kai giggled, “Just protective. But there is a large part of the population that makes their hoards out of objects stolen from the hoards of others. One time this dravhenkin named Vir’Lym tried to steal one of my objects. Nai caught him halfway in our nest, grabbed him by the scruff, and tossed him out the doorway. Never saw him again, though apparently a nest a few burrows below us got robbed a little bit later. My guess is that he grabbed onto that nest’s ledge on the way down, then decided to pinch something from there.”

Trastadis didn’t laugh, but Fili did, and the sound pushed pack the glittering stars that watched so hungrily and the grasping claws of the branches above and to their sides. 

For a while after, they were silent, a comfortable silence of companions. They walked for what seemed like hours, though Kai wasn’t exactly sure if they were hours, or minutes, or maybe days, until Legolas halted, turning slightly to stare at the group. “We are nearly at the doors. Make sure to be respectful in your dealings with my father.” He glared at them, with the haughty tilt of his head that most elves seemed to have. 

Kai strangled down a giggle, it was probably inappropriate to laugh at an elven prince, but he looked so funny standing there, with a few rays of light streaming through the trees to grace his face. He looked made of light and air, all clean and shiny, while the rest of them were covered in mud and spider blood, with scratches on their hands and faces. He looked unreal, a figment of a dream, and for a second, that unrealness made Kai worry. It made him worry that this was a dream, a fever dream, and that he was still stuck in that black cave, cold and hungry and thirsty. 

“Don’t worry, Legolas,” said Kili, eyes glimmering with mirth and mischief, “I may not be able to speak for my brother, but I am plenty respectful.” He gave his head a haughty tilt and put on a serious face.

Tauriel laughed softly, and Kai couldn’t stop his giggles. “Don’t listen to him, oh Prince of Mirkwood,” Fili called, “It is I who am properly respectful. This scallywag, incapable of growing a real beard, has no clue what the meaning of respect is!” He smiled, teeth bright and white in his dirty face.

Kili turned around, eyes wide with fake shock, hand over his heart. “You wound me brother! My beard is coming in plenty full!”   
Radagast had joined in the laughter, and Trastadis had a smile that was spreading slowly across her face. Legolas didn’t say anything, but his face shut down, and his hair swirled as he turned and continued to walk down the path.

A few minutes later, the trees thinned out, and opened to a bridge that led to doors guarded by two elves. Kai sucked in a breath as the guards stood to attention, their armor gleaming in the light that filtered through the canopy. “Prince Legolas!” They called, in perfect unison. “Your father requested your presence a while back.”

Then the one on the right added. “Radagast the brown! We are honored by your presence.” Then he looked further past the wizard to the two other elves, two dwarves, and one dravhenkin. Behind the helmet, his eyes widened. “My prince, what do you wish to be done with these,” he paused, apparently trying to locate and insult that didn’t include the elves.

“Mal’ari?” Kai suggested, waving his hand above his head, “Ouzch wa’phik? Xihu’uli? Oh, I know! Jennu drekimi!”

There was a pause as Radagast snorted.

His voice only sounding slightly strained, Legolas said. “They have come to meet with King Thrandriel.”

“ _ They have? Looking like that? _ ” Muttered the guard on the left in elvish.

Trastadis pushed past them all to stand beside Legolas. “I am Trastadis, the personal guard of my lady Galadriel. The news we carry is of great importance, and we came here in all possible haste.”

Kai blinked, it hadn’t felt like they had come in haste, quickly, yes, haste? No. Maybe he just didn’t know the exact meaning of haste. Or maybe his brain was so muddled he was confusing the two.

Radagast looked his nose down at the guards, the movement slightly undermined by the bird that had come back to flit about his face. And the fact that he was shorter then them. With a swift movement, he removed the cap, gave the bird access to its nest, then replaced the cap. “Yes, yes, stand aside!” He called, “Time's a wasting.”

The guards glanced at each other nervously, but at Legolas’s look, they opened the doors.

 

. . .

 

It had been a day since they had come to the halls of the elven king, and they had not been given an audience yet. Fili was almost positive that this delay had been done on purpose, but he hadn’t brought that thought up yet with his companions. Instead, he waited, in one of the rooms beside the one were the elven prince Legolas and Tauriel and Kili talked. With him was Trastadis and Kai, the elven guard doing drills with her glaive while Kai stared at a blank piece of paper, a quill hanging loosely in his hand.

Finally, Kai looked up, red eyes narrowed. “Where is Radagast? I haven’t seen him since this morning.”

Fili shrugged, “Probably with the elven king now, trying to get an audience for us. Why are you here?”

Kai lay the quill down, “This is the quietest room, and if I’m with Trastadis or Tauriel, the guards don’t look like they’ll skin me. Or run screaming. Why are you here?”

“Kili, Tauriel, and Legolas are talking - ”

Trastadis came to a stop. “Finally.”

“And I don’t want to be alone in this place. What are you doing?”

Kai groaned and yanked on one of his braided scales. “I’m trying to write a letter to Nia. I would use the moth, but,” he pulled out the golden moth and stroked it, “She might be in a place where a talking moth is an abnormality. So,” he flourished the paper. “Letter.”

“You sound more lucid,” Trastadis commented, though Fili had to shove the urge to point out that a talking moth made of gold was an abnormality anywhere down.

“Ehhhhhh,” Kai murmured, going back to playing with his quill. Fili watched him as he did so, the dravhenkin’s movements were jerky, but more fluid then they had been yesterday. He would take that as a good thing. Finally, after a few moments of silent contemplation, Kai looked at the two of them with wide eyes. “I’ve been thinking - “

“Sounds dangerous,” Trastadis commented dryly.

Kai scowled faintly, but continued. “I was wondering if either of you two had found your Ones.”

There was a heavy silence. “No, why are you asking?” Trastadis’s voice came slow and suspicious, and her eyes were shadowed.

Kai’s ears flicked, “Just wondering.” He looked towards Fili, “And you?”

Fili shrugged, “No, but that’s not unusual. I’m only eighty five.” Kai stared at Fili in shock. “What?”

“I thought you were older!”

“Oh yeah? And how old are you?”

“One hundred and one next summer.”

“Is that old for dravhenkin?”

“Well no, it’s still young.”

“So you can’t say anything, can you?”

“Well, I beat both of you.” Trastadis broke in with an amused grin.

“Okay,” Kai placed his quill back on the ground. “What about crushes? I told you about mine, you tell me about yours.”

“Hey Fili,” Trastadis said quickly, “Want to spar?”

Choking, he turned towards her, saw that just beyond the door, partly open, two elven guards stood, apparently in conversation, but their eyes strayed towards their group. He grinned, drew his swords. “Sure.” They lunged into combat, blades ringing as they sparred.

“I’ll find out eventually!” Kai called, and for a while he watched them, then he dipped his quill into the ink pot and placed the tip to the paper. After a few more moments of frowning contemplation, he started to draw jagged symbols, ink turning the paper black.

Fili found himself concentrating fully in the fake fight. Trastadis had a longer reach than him, both with her longer arms and longer weapon. She also fought differently from Kili, her forms for like dancing the combat. Even so, she couldn’t fight as well in closer quarters, as Fili’s dual blades were better suited to that type of fight then her glaive. 

Finally, Trastadis danced back, sweat gleaming on her face. “You’re good.” She panted, chest heaving with exertion.

“Thanks,” Fili said, giving his blades an unnecessary twirl, just to prove that he could still do it, “So are you.”

“It comes with lifetimes of practice. Do we want to invite Kai into our little sparring session?”

Fili winced, “How about we not. Last time we gave him a weapon, he broke the string on Tauriel’s bow.”

Trastadis blinked in surprise, “He did?”

Fili found himself grinning, “I didn’t know how he did it back then, but now I figure it was the claws that did it.”

Kai looked up from his letter, pouting. “I’m still here you know. If you’re going to talk about me, how about doing it when I’m not in the room.”

“How’s the letter coming?” Fili asked as he sheathed his swords. The paper was now filled with black, spiky marks.

Kai made a face, picked it up, and blew on it. “I think I’m done.”

“Is that draconic?” Trastadis asked, an eyebrow raised.

Kai nodded, scales clacking together slightly. “Yep.” He waved the paper around a bit, then folded it up. He scrounged around in his bag and pulled out the golden butterfly, then carefully gave the paper to the construction. “Clax nomeno ekess Nia,” he murmured, and at the words, the butterfly stirred, then flapped out of the room carrying the paper.

“So,” Fili commented, “If you think a talking mouth will cause a stir, what kind of commotion do you think a golden butterfly carrying a letter will cause?”

Kai opened his mouth to retort, but before he could, the door shot fully open and crashed loudly against the wall. Fili’s blades were in his hands in an instant, and Trastadis and her glaive was already ready. “Guys,” Kai said, voice amused, “It’s just Radagast.”

Radagast grinned at them, wide and deranged. “We’ve got our audience! Where is the last of our merry band!”

Trastadis pointed at the wall. “Next room over.”

Fili sheathed his swords just as quickly as hee had pulled them, a grin splitting his face. “We do?”

Radagast was already running to the next room, his tattered robes flapping behind him. “Yes!” They heard the bang of the other door slamming open. “We have our audien- oh, wait, you’re talking, I’ll give you a few seconds. Better hurry!” 

Radagast backpedaled, joining Fili, Kai, and Trastadis, who had just walked into the hallway. After a few minutes, Kili, Tauriel, and Legolas walked out. Kili had a grin splitting his face, Tauriel looked stern, her shoulders set, and Legolas looked as if he had gotten a verbal tongue lashing. The elven prince turned to Radagast, trying to regain his composure, and said, “He is ready for us?”

Radagast’s head nodded, “Yes, yes, this way, step quickly now.” He scuttled forwards, and with Legolas at the front, navigated the hallways.

After awhile of heavy silence, Kai whistled. “I hate to admit it, but this tree cave is impressive.”

“Tree cave?” Asked Legolas, his voice impassive.

“Tree cave.” Kai agreed.

After a second, Legolas asked in a slightly disgruntled voice. “Just what exactly are you.”

Kai’s ears flicked up. “I’m me, what else would I be?” Fili choked trying to hold down his laughter, while Kili didn’t try to hide his.

They continued on their way in silence, and privately, Fili had to agree with Kai. The tree cave was pretty cool, even if Fili did look through it with biased eyes. He’d been a prisoner here once, and the memories lurked just beneath the facade of glory, and beneath those memories of the company were darker, more dangerous memories involving different prisons. 

Kili’s shoulder bump pushed those memories away, and his wide grin was mischievous, his voice full of false innocence, he said, “What do you think they do about termites?”

Kai looked down at the wood they walked on, “I hope,” he said neutrally, “they do something about them.”

Tauriel’s voice and face were utterly straight as she said, “Thrandriel has whole platoons of elves dedicated to riding the wood of termites. It is considered quite an honor.”

“Would you be quiet,” Legolas hissed, “We approach the chambers.”

They were utterly silent as they walked the rest of the way to the platform where the throne stood tall. Thrandriel sat there, in robes that shimmered green and gold. Upon his head sat a woven crown, full of leaves and berries. His face was stern and cold as he looked down upon his son, Radagast the Brown, an exile, a guard, two dwarven princes and a dravhenkin. “What,” He said, his voice ringing clearly, “do you want.”

Legolas stood tall and straight, so did Radagast and Tauriel. Trastadis bowed, and Kai pulled the whole, neck bared, eyes averted, ears lain back, submission thing he had pulled with Galadriel. Upon entering the platform, Fili and Kili bowed low, and in unison, called out. “Fili and Kili, sons of Vili, at your service.”

Thrandriel didn’t sneer, but something in his expression made it look like he wanted to. “The line of Durin has never proclaimed to be at my service,even for formality's sake.”

Fili and Kili straightened, shoulder to shoulder, a united front. Fili started, his voice ringing out. “We bring news from Erebor-”

“Really, you come from the wrong side of the Greenwood for that.” The elven king raised an eyebrow.

Fili continued smoothly, his faces showing no annoyance at the interruption. “About a message-”

“I do not care about Erebor’s messages.”

“From Mordor.”

There was a heavy pause. Thrandriel did not get up from his chair. “I assume you bring me news that the dwarves will be marching towards Greenwood under the banner of war.”

“No!” Cried Kili, his voice shrill but certain. “We come to tell you that in a month Erabor will be under attack. We have come to ask for your help in protecting our home.”

Fili took the thread of conversation smoothly, “Erebor has recovered significantly in the three years since the last battle, but it is not ready for another attack so soon.”

“And how would you know,” asked Thrandriel with venom in his words, “being missing for three years.”

“We know,” Kili said, “because I have been in contact with my kin and the situation is dire.”

“You would ask for what?” Thrandriel lifted his chin, “Elvish lives and blood no doubt.”

“You misunderstand.” Said Fili, “We ask for help because if we do not we will be slaughtered. And then were will you be? If Erebor falls, Greenwood will have no protection, and elvish blood will still be spilled. You cannot hide in you halls, this is a war you cannot ignore.”

“I know,” continued Kili, “That the injustices of the past our still very much with us. But we our willing to forgive and forget in this instance. It is our pride or the world, and we choose the world.”

“We simply ask for aid, and we will take whatever you give us, even if you give us nothing.” Fili’s face was solum, dignified. 

Thrandriel’s brows drew together, he opened his mouth to speak, and to everyone’s surprise, Legolas interrupted him. “Father,” he said, face drawn, “I think we must help them. What are we father, if we hide in our caves and do nothing. What are we if we let the darkness win? The dwarves of Erebor are going woefully under-prepared into a battle they have no chance of winning alone, and if we do nothing, we are less than them. Are you prepared to pay the price that hiding will bring?”

Thrandriel blank facade had cracked, and he stared down in shock at his son. Then the cold mask was back, and he turned towards Trastadis, gave skipping over Kai and Tauriel as if they did not exist. “And you? I know an elf from Lothlorien when I see one.”

Trastadis looked at him, her voice was unwavering as she spoke. “As my lady Galadriel’s personal guard, I know her thoughts better than most. She is with them, with their quest and their purpose. Otherwise, I would not be here.”

Finally, Thrandriel turned towards Radagast, who grinned widely. “And you?”

The wizard tittered. “I say you have no choice.” His voice rang out through the caves, strong despite the warble. “And you know it, and so do your elves. Even if you do not agree, your son will not be the only Greenwood elf leaving your kingdom to stand with the dwarves.”

Thrandriel stood, eyes blazing. “You dare,” he hissed, “threaten me with rebellion! I am the king of - “

“No,” the wizard said, and he was no longer a bumbling fool with bird poop on his face. He was a wild thing, full of power and energy, a creature of the forest and land that had no master nor king. “You are not a King, simply a keeper. One who is supposed to protect the land and the people who live there.” He smiled, wide and bright, a predators baring of teeth. “And if a keeper does not do his duty, if he does not make it so that the land and people flourish. Well,” His smile widened, his eyes gleamed bright, “A keeper can always be replaced with someone more suited to the task.”

There was a second of stunned silence, no one dared to move, except Kai who shifted and muttered under his breath. Only Tauriel, who stood beside him, caught the words. “Kwi gwrapz.”

Finally, Thrandriel spoke again, his voice heavy. “What do you need?”

Kili blinked in surprise. “Well, healers would be nice, and so would archers. Most dwarves dislike archery. Food if you can spare it.”

Another heavy silence, then Thrandriel’s voice rang through the halls. “It will be seen to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mal’ari = Trash  
> Ouzch wa’phik = Crazy people  
> Xihu’uli = Losers  
> Jennu drekimi = amazing beings  
> Clax nomeno ekess Nia = Take this to Nia  
> Kwi gwrapz = Ohh snap


	19. Why You Shouldn't Skip Wing Day

Gimli jumped back out of Dwalin’s reach, the blade of his axe knocking away the blade of the other dwarf’s weapon. He breathed out in heavy gasps, face red and beaded with perspiration. He kept on falling back as Dwalin advanced, the older and more experienced dwarf easily pushing him back with the strokes of his axe. The younger dwarf dodged to the side and swung, but Dwalin was already there to meet him. Gimli attacked again and again, but Dwalin’s blade was there every time. Gimli fell back, gasping, eyes glittering. Dwalin grinned. “Come on,” He said, “You can do better than that.”

Nia, sitting on the edge of the training grounds with her wings tucked behind her and Vran’Elev in her lap , raised an eyeridge in surprise. She hadn’t expected dwarves to be so quick. Although, Gimli was good for his age, and was being trained by the best. Which was Dwalin. Nia wasn’t sure how well she would of held up, she still couldn’t fight well with her wings, even though she practiced every morning. Perhaps Gimli would like to spar occasionally? The young dwarf and Nia had become fast friends and he had been an endless font of dwarven knowledge, something that others did not like to share.

“Nia, I thought I would find you here.” Nia twisted to see Dis standing at the entrance of the training grounds, sword at her side. “You said you could help?”

Nia stood abruptly, wings flapping out to steady her, holding Vran’Elev tighter in her arms. “I did, what do you need?”

“Come with me.” Dis turned and walked off. With one last glance at Gimli and Dwalin, Nia followed. “We are rebuilding the ballistas on the parapets, and we figure someone of your skills could be useful.”

“You mean my flight?”

“Yes.”

“Ahh, figured this wouldn’t be a social visit.”

“Oh?” Dis’s step faltered.

“You don’t like me.” Nia didn’t see a reason to hide the fact.   
“That’s not true, you just haven't proved that you can do what you said you can do. You are also in the process of corrupting our young.” She sounded slightly amused.

Nia couldn’t be certain, but that sounded like a joke. “I haven’t had a chance too. I was kicked out of the forges because my wings take up too much space. And I haven’t had any one to spar with. Gimli's too busy practicing with Dwalin or helping out in the mines.” She paused, considering her words. “Were you joking or was that a test?”

“Both.”

Nia rolled her eyes. “Did I pass?”

“That remains to be seen.” A heavy pause. Finally, Dis said, “Gimli likes you, but Gimli is friends with two-thirds of Erebor, and the last third he hasn’t met yet. But still, he is a good judge of character. Mostly.”

Nia laughed. “That seems to hold up with what I’ve learned so far. So, ballistas. How do you build ballistas?” It sounded interesting, and any knowledge could be useful in the future.

Dis was smiling, a small, vicious smile, Nia could hear it in her voice. “We're building them directly into the parapets. You load one up, shoot it, and it sends a projectile into the oncoming army. Our kind is wood, with blades attached to the sides. You release it, the blades pop out while in flight, it hits the enemy, and chaos ensues. There are also smaller ones that can shoot many smaller bolts one after another. These can be rotated to cover different angles if needed. And that is always needed in war.” The last words were solum, tired.

Nia gulped slightly. “Okay, well then. That still doesn’t tell me how to build one.”

“You’ll see.” Dis hesitated for a second, “And if you ever need a sparring partner, you can see if I’m available.”

Nia blinked in surprise. Well then. “Okay.” 

They continued in silence, footsteps sounding on the stone floor. Beneath her fingers, Vran’Elev hummed, the shell swirling with its opalescent hue. Nia smiled, then strapped the egg into its harness, the warmth sinking into her chest. Finally, they reached the parapets, the stone walls opening up to a view of the sky. There were more dwarves then she’d ever seen in one place on the walls, bustling around, carrying beams of wood and pails of nails. “Where do you want me?” Nia asked, stepping out of the way as someone hustled by her.

Dis pointed to an area the bustled more than the rest. “There, hovering just outside of the walls. Your job is to hold the beam steady, keep them straight, and hammer in what we can’t reach.” Dis marched through the crowd, and Nia followed in her wake. She didn’t have room to stretch her wings or take off. “How's it going!” Dis called as she got nearer to one of the clusters of workers.

One of the dwarves turned, one marginally shorter and stouter than the rest, with dark skin and sun streaked hair. They scratched their beard as they looked at Dis, eyes shining bright in their face. “It's going about as well as expected.”

Dis nodded. “Good. Nia will help.” Then she was gone, the crowd swallowing her whole.

The dwarf regarded Nia with dark eyes. “Can you hover with those wings?”

“Yes, but not for overly long.”

“Eh, it will have to do. Get over there, we’ll see how good you’re at building things.” They pointed, and Nia moved towards the stone edge, then hopped over and off, her wings catching the winds almost immediately. The dwarf gave a nod, and then started to shout orders, and the bustling chaos started back up again.

 

. . .

 

Nia wasn’t sure how long they worked, time seemed to skip and slow. Later, much later, after they had finished the first ballista and built the framework of the next, and while the sun was starting to set, Nia set foot on the stone of the battlements. She nearly stumbled, her whole back ached like she’d kept her arms up all day. But worse. She groaned and stretched her wings out, making sure not to hit any of the dwarves that were swarming back into the mountain for supper and ale. 

Soon she was alone, except for the dwarf in front of her, who grinned widely, their white teeth flashing beneath their dark beard. They were the one who’d been calling orders all day. “Well then,” they said, “How did you like your first taste of real dwarven work?” 

“My wings are going to fall off.” Nia replied, her voice dry.

They laughed, a loud, booming sound. “Good one! My name is Khaito, child of Thato, at your service.” They gave a short bow. “My pronouns are they and them.”

Nia bowed. “Nia’Ara of Okr’Thel, at your service.” She placed a hand on Vran’Elev. “And this is Vran’Elev.”

Khaito raised their eyebrows. “Is it true that that is a real dragon egg?”

“No, it's the egg of a dravhen, which is kinda like a dragon, but less gold needy.” 

They snorted, then walked over to lean on the stones beside Nia. “Look at this place.” They said softly, then they shook their head. “Durin’s beard I miss home.”

“You’re not from Erebor?” Nia was startled, but it made sense. She refrained from finding a quill and paper and interrogating Khaito on the different dwarven cultures.

“No,” Khaito shook their head, “I’m from the Iron Hills, came over with Dain to help keep Erebor safe. Three years ago,” They pointed to Dale, then to Murkwood, “the Company of Thorin Oakenshield was under siege from the elves and humans, the very people we're depending on to help save our beards.” They laughed, “And now I might die here, trapped in these walls, without being able to see my siblings again.”

“So you don't like it here?”

“It’s pretty and all, but it’s not home. As soon as this war is done, I’m heading back to the Iron Hills and my family. I would have gone back with Dain, but I was needed here.” They patted the wooden framework of the partly completed ballista. “Most of the dwarves manning these will be Iron Hills folk. The ones from Erebor had to focus on survival after the dragon, not weapons of war.”

Nia flicked her ears slightly and made a noncommittal sound. There was something bitter in their voice, and Nia decided to change the subject. “What's your family like?”

Khaito blinked, then grinned, and it was an honest grin this time. “I have two younger siblings, complete scamps they are. Goto likes cooking, and Khreto is always under the feet of the glassblowers. The pair of them run around the Iron Hills creating as much chaos as possible. I’m pretty sure that by the time I come back, our uncle will be nothing but skin and bones.” Nia laughed, it felt good to laugh. “Do you have any family?”

“My twin Kai.” Nia smiled and looked out towards the woods. “He’s reckless, and overestimates his power, but he cares, and he’s smart for someone who has nothing but scales between his ears.”

Khaito laughed, “Well, I think that’s enough stories for tonight, I need my supper. Meet us here tomorrow after breakfast if your wings haven’t fallen off.” They walked off, still chuckling heartily.

Nia tilted her head back and looked at the sky. The moon shone softly between the gaps of clouds. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glint of something, like light on metal. It was moving in her direction, in erratic little skips like a bug flying with something unwieldy. Her smile widened, her sharp white teeth caught the light.

Kai.

The butterfly came her way and landed on her outstretched hand, the gold glittering softly. It deposited a folded up piece of paper on her palm and stilled. Nia hummed and stroked it’s wings. “I think Khaito had a wonderful idea, lets go get supper.”

She didn’t head to the dining halls, they were too full for her liking, and always people stared. Instead, she headed towards the kitchens, she was known there, after bothering Bombur for the recipes that he used. She liked Bombur, he had a cheerful personality, and people stared less in the kitchens because they were so busy. 

“Well there you are!” He cried as she entered, wings tucked as close as possible to her back. “I was wondering when you would show up. Word says that you’re helping out on the ballistas?”

“Word would be right, “ she answered, navigating the way to her seat. There was already a steaming bowl of soup and a cup of water waiting for her. She smiled, remembering the reactions when the dwarves had learned she’d never drink anything but water, and occasionally milk. The island didn’t have alcohol. Then her smile dropped. “How are the food stores doing?”

Bombur shrugged, his cheery face momentarily faltering. “We’re saving up now so we can have more later.”

“After I’m done helping with the ballistas, I’ll see if I can get permission to go hunting.” She sat down and unfolded the piece of paper, and smiled softly and the sight of writing that was not her own.

“What’s that?”

“News from Kai.” She took a spoonful of soup and made a contented sound. “The food is good.”

“What’s the news?” Bombur’s voice sounded slightly strangled. Worried. Nia remembered that the two dwarves that Kai was traveling with, Fili and Kili, had been part of Thorin’s Company.

“I don’t know yet, but I’ll tell you after I read it.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” She took another spoonful of soup and began to read.

 

_ Dear Sister, _

_ I have survived Mirkwood with barely a scratch to my scales, although we had some trouble. After Galadriel’s forest, we traveled to the house of a bear-man, a shapeshifter named Beorn. He reminded me somewhat of you. He lent us ponies, who took us to the edges of Mirkwood. Have you seen ponies yet? The oddest creatures, you’re supposed to ride them. My legs hurt for days until I got used to it. _

_ From there we went into Mirkwood. It is a disagreeable place, rotting and cobwebby and full of disgusting magic. It twists your mind and makes you prey for the giant spiders that infest the forest. We had a few scrapes with those creatures, and Fili and I got separated and fell into some type of sinkhole that collapsed on top of us. I don’t know how, perhaps the spiders were smarter than they looked. I’m fine, he’s fine, we survived and swapped stories to keep ourselves sane till the wizard named Radagast got us out. _

_ I don’t remember too much of that, I may have used too much magic. _

_ Either way, he accompanied us the Elven King’’s court, were we know wait for an audience. I can’t write much more, I think I hear someone running this way. I think it might be Radagast. _

_ Either way, I love you,  _

_ Your twin. _

 

The writing on the paper was shaky, and the I before itov was blotchy, as if he’d held the quill there for a long time. Nia breathed out and looked up at Bombur and his worried face. “You’re friends our fine, they ran into a spot of trouble, but they all survived. They were waiting in Thrandriel’s Halls when Kai wrote this.”

Bombur sighed. “By Durin’s beard I was worried.”

Nia smiled, “Well know you know not to be.” After a slight pause, she added, “Do you have any idea what to do to help wings that are aching worse the Xur’Kar’s old bones?”

Bombur broke out into his loud booming laugh.


End file.
